Surprising statistic ranks two ex-UFC champions among other fighters above Khabib Nurmagomedov on list of fighters with highest takedown accuracy
Former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov popularized the Dagestani wrestling style in the Western world. After he arrived in the UFC, the tiny caucasian region gained tremendous popularity in the global MMA community.
Many consider Nurmagomedov among the most dominant fighters the sport has ever seen, but a recent social media post brought the perception under scrutiny. According to the UFC records book, Nurmagomedov’s name does not appear in the list of fighters ranked in order of takedown accuracy.
@BenTheBaneDavis posted these statistics on their X (formerly Twitter) handle, which show former UFC welterweight champions Georges St-Pierre and Robbie Lawler occupy third and fourth spots on the list with 73.9% and 73.8% takedown accuracy, respectively. Meanwhile, ex-UFC fighter Nordine Taleb is ranked first with 76.2% takedown accuracy.
Statistics can be misleading when studied in isolation. A look at other indicators of wrestling ability shows that Nurmagomedov stands out as a dominant force, despite the relatively low takedown accuracy.
For instance, ‘The Eagle’ scored an average of 5.32 takedowns per 15 minutes, outdoing St-Pierre (4.16), Lawler (0.65), and Taleb (1.94) by a significant margin.
Khabib Nurmagomedov highlights the main difference between Dagestani and American wrestling
Heading into his final MMA fight against Justin Gaethje at UFC 254, Khabib Nurmagomedov shed light on the difference between the Dagestani and American styles of wrestling.
Nurmagomedov implied that the American style of wrestling relies on physical strength and it is not sustainable to wrestle continuously in a 25-minute fight without getting tired. He cited the example of his teammate Daniel Cormier’s trilogy fight against Stipe Miocic and said:
“I told [Daniel Cormier] today, ‘When you fought Stipe Miocic last time, you grabbed his leg one time, and you took him down. He got up very quickly, and you’re finished.’ All other minutes were stand-up.”
‘The Eagle’ then suggested that the Dagestani wrestling style, which favors relentlessness over strength, enables him to pursue takedowns repeatedly without letting the opponent off the hook:
“If I’m going to take him [Justin Gaethje] down once and he defends, I’m going to go all night. This is the big difference between US wrestling and Dagestan wrestling.”
Watch Khabib Nurmagomedov explain the difference below: