Daniel Cormier put the Russian MMA legend ahead of Muhammad Ali in his five-person list
Daniel Cormier believes that Khabib is the greatest fighter of all time © Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC © Getty Images
Ex-Russian UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov is the greatest mixed martial artist of all time, according to his former teammate Daniel Cormier.
Nurmagomedov retired in late 2020 on a perfect 29-0 record after forcing a submission from Justin Gaethje at UFC 254.
The Dagestani grappling genius honored a promise to his mother by hanging his gloves up, and had vowed not to continue fighting following the death of his father and first coach Abdulmanap due to Covid complications.
Two years on, Nurmagomedov has reared another champion in the elite MMA promotion by steering Islam Makhachev to the lightweight title he once boasted, by beating Charles Oliveira at UFC 280 in Abu Dhabi last month.
Nurmagomedov, 34, has also branched out into promoting by running his own Eagle FC banner and has shown no signs of returning to the octagon.
Instead, he has left fans and pundits such as
Cormier, a former light heavyweight and heavyweight champion, to bicker over his standing in the list of the greatest fighters of all time.
On Twitter on Wednesday, Cormier divided opinion by posting his own top five.
“That’s my list and I’m sticking with it!” he wrote.
“1. [Floyd] Mayweather 2. Nurmagomedov 3. [Muhammad] Ali 4. [Georges] St. Pierre 5. [Amanda] Nunes.
“I don’t know who I’m missing. Discuss and insult, but I’m the one making [the] list. Do better in the comments,” Cormier suggested.
The majority of fans replying decided to focus on Cormier’s listing of Nurmagomedov as the greatest mixed martial artist of all time, wedged between boxers Mayweather and Ali, rather than his ranking as the best fighter ever.
Many agreed, but others felt that Jon Jones and Anderson Silva, who both managed more title defenses of their championships in the light heavyweight (13) and middleweight (10) divisions respectively than Nurmagomedov’s three, deserved a mention.
That’s my list and I’m sticking with it! Of all time Craig 1.mayweather 2. Nurmagomedov 3. Ali 4. St. Pierre 5. Nunes I don’t know who im missing discuss and insult but I’m the one making list. Do better in the comments
— Daniel Cormier (@dc_mma) November 10, 2022
Cormier and Nurmagomedov are former teammates from the American Kickboxing Academy. In 2020, shortly after his retirement, Cormier described Nurmagomedov as the “greatest fighter we’ve ever seen”.
“He made no mistakes. People speak of Jon Jones being undefeated. Well, he made a mistake. He did an up-and-down elbow, right? Khabib made no mistakes.
“Even in dominance, he never messed up. He got to 29-0. There’s no one like him. I just saw him in the back and I told him I said ‘hey everybody’s crying but guys we got to have the most dominant champ the UFC has ever seen so cry now and then we celebrate later.’ Just a phenomenal career,” Cormier added.
