Michael Bisping names his three MMA GOATs; explains why he left out Khabib Nurmagomedov
Michael Bisping has put forth a list comprising three fighters whom he regards as MMA’s GOATs. Intriguingly, the list doesn't include Khabib Nurmagomedov. Bisping has asserted that Jon Jones, Anderson Silva, and Georges St-Pierre are MMA’s Greatest Of All Time.
‘The Count’ made this assertion during an appearance on the True Geordie Podcast. Bisping explained that Jon Jones and Anderson Silva have achieved great things in MMA. He also noted that Silva is now on a decent run in the boxing realm despite his age and wear and tear.
Nevertheless, ‘The Count’ added that Jones and Silva’s history of testing positive for banned PEDs places an asterisk next to their respective legacies. Bisping opined that this is what likely makes Georges St-Pierre worthy of the number-one spot on the list of MMA GOATs.
During their conversation, True Geordie reminded Michael Bisping about Khabib Nurmagomedov being considered by some as one of the MMA GOATs. Geordie noted, however, that a few other UFC champions have three times more title defenses than Nurmagomedov does, and ‘The Eagle’ never challenged himself by moving up a weight class in the UFC.
Geordie and Michael Bisping also added that Nurmagomedov sort of took himself out of the GOAT conversation by retiring during the prime of his MMA career. Bisping stated:
“Yeah, he took himself out of it. And if you look, yeah, he didn’t fight the best until the end of his career. When you compare that with GSP or Jones or Anderson, their run against world-class competition was far longer. But for Khabib, I know it was because of his father passing away, and he made a promise to his mother. So, it’s different circumstances."
"But for those reasons, I think when you look at the resumes, even though he was undefeated, the resumes don’t really stack up. And I say that with tremendous respect to Khabib – Far being from me to downplay his career because I would never dream of doing that.”
Khabib Nurmagomedov is a successful entrepreneur and a part-time coach
Khabib Nurmagomedov’s last MMA fight was a second-round submission win over Justin Gaethje in their UFC lightweight title unification matchup at UFC 254 in October 2020. Nurmagomedov retired from MMA after this win.
BREAKING: Khabib Nurmagomedov announces his retirement from MMA. #UFC254 https://t.co/JtLGvh36ds
After stepping away from professional MMA competition, Khabib Nurmagomedov proceeded to establish himself as a successful entrepreneur. Furthermore, ‘The Eagle’ also serves as a part-time MMA coach in his native Dagestan and at AKA in San Jose, California.
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