Khabib Nurmagomedov recounts his experience meeting Fedor Emelianenko

Khabib Nurmagomedov before the title fight. Photo: Reproduction/Instagram/brwlrz

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Khabib Nurmagomedov recalled an encounter with Fedor Emelianenko that held special significance early in his MMA career. The former UFC lightweight champion (up to 70,3 kg) recounted how the presence of one of the sport's greatest names caught his attention and served as an inspiration.

In an interview with the YouTube channel 'Lex Fridman', published this Wednesday (12), the former champion, who currently works as a coach and is part of the UFC Hall of Fame, said that he was in the same gym as Fedor and closely followed the legendary heavyweight (up to 120,2 kg) competing in sambo. The moment happened in 2004, when the Russian was already one of Khabib's main references.

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“When he was warming up, I was next to him. It was a gym, you know, a place that could hold maybe 1500 people, and there was a partition, like a wall, and everyone was warming up behind it. At that time, well, practically very few people knew who Fedor was, but I knew. I knew who he was, that he was the Pride champion,” said Khabib Nurmagomedov.

The former UFC champion also highlighted that he followed Fedor's great results and knew the main names defeated by the heavyweight. For Khabib, being so close to an athlete of that level represented an important motivation at the beginning of his MMA career.

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“Back then, he had beaten Nogueira, Mark Coleman, and Randleman. That was before the title fight against Cro Cop… I thought, ‘Wow, Fedor is right here.’ For me, that was a great source of motivation at the time…”, the Russian concluded.

Khabib Nurmagomedov's history in professional MMA.

Khabib celebrates his UFC victory. Photo: Reproduction/Facebook/UFC

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Khabib is considered one of the greatest fighters . The Russian ended his career in October 2020, shortly after submitting Justin Gaethje and defending his lightweight title for the third time at UFC 254. Retired undefeated, 'The Eagle' left the sport with a perfect record of 29 wins, eight by knockout, 11 by submission, and 10 by decision. He defeated Conor McGregor , Dustin Poirier , Rafael dos Anjos , and Edson Barboza.