5 undefeated fighters who have the potential to replicate Khabib Nurmagomedov's success in the UFC
Assuming Khabib Nurmagomedov remains retired, he will go down in UFC history as one of the only fighters to have maintained an undefeated record throughout his career.
Not only did Nurmagomedov manage to remain undefeated, he also captured and defended the lightweight title. Victores over a plethroa of elite 155lber's, such as Conor McGregor, Dustin Poirier and Justin Gaethje, certified his status as an all-time-great.
This raises the question, will we ever see a fighter come close to replicating his incredible run in the UFC? In the following list we will go over five undefeated UFC fighters, who have the potential to create a similar legacy to that of Khabib Nurmagomedov.
5 undefeated fighters who have the potential to replicate Khabib Nurmagomedov's success in the UFC
#5 Umar Nurmagomedov - 13-0
This spot could be taken by any number of young undefeated prospects in the UFC: Jack Shore, Illia Topuria and Shamil Gamzatov to name a few. However, Umar Nurmagomedov is not only Khabib Nurmagomedov's cousin but is also trained by him.
Umar Nurmagomdov has a record of thirteen wins with zero losses. He recently made his UFC debut, submitting Sergey Morozov in only two rounds. His wrestling is unsurprisingly reminiscent of Khabib's own style. With the legend himself in Umar's corner, who's to say he will not replicate his older cousin's greatness?
#4 Sean Brady - 14-0
The only American on this list, Sean Brady, is an elite wrestler who is continuously improving in all facets of his game. Brady already holds four UFC wins to his name. He most recently put on a dominant showing against Jake Matthews, submitting the Australian via arm triangle.
This win saw Brady push into the top 15 of his division. He is now set to compete against Kevin Lee at UFC 264. Brady has looked dominant in every one of his performances to date, and there is nothing to suggest that he won't have an incredibly successful career as a fighter. Whether he replicates the levels of success that Nurmagomedov reached remains to be seen.
#3 Khamzat Chimaev - 9-0
The UFC's biggest breakout star in 2020, Khamzat Chimaev, has already garnered a huge amount of hype around his name despite only being three fights into his UFC career. However, each of those fights took place in such dominant fashion that the excitement behind the Swedish fighter is unsurprising to say the least.
The only reason Chimaev is not higher on this list is due to the complications that have surrounded his career in 2021. Chimaev contracted Covid-19 at the start of the year and suffered greatly from the long term effects of the virus. This led to Chimaev announcing his retirement. However, he has since rescinded the statement, although a fight announcement is yet to be revealed.
#2 Askar Askarov - 14-0-1
Whilst he may not yet have the name value of a fighter like Chimaev, Askar Askarov has slowly been eradicating every opponent placed in front of him. The only man to give him trouble was the current flyweight champion, Brandon Moreno, who fought Askarov to a closely contested draw.
Askarov is now set to face off against Alex Perez. A win here would cement Askarov's status as the number one contender at flyweight, setting him up for a rematch with Moreno to truly decide who the king of the flyweights is. Askarov's style is so effective and dominant that he has the undeniable potential to replicate Nurmagomeov's run of domination.
#1 Movsar Evloev - 15-0
Movsar Evloev is another fighter who may not have the name value he truly deserves. Regardless, the Russian featherweight looks nigh on unstoppable so far in his career. He already holds five UFC wins, having defeated Hakeem Dawodu the last time out at UFC 263.
His ability to impose his wrestling on his opponents is increasingly reminiscent of Khabib's focus on position over submission. His dominant top pressure wears his opponents down to the point where Evloev is able to get an easy finish or simply ride the fight out to a unanimous decision victory.
He has called for an opponent in the top 10 next and it is hard to bet against him regardless of who he is matched up against. Out of all the fighters on this list, it is Evloev who currently looks most likely to repliacte Nurmagomedov's unparalled success in MMA.