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Khabib Nurmagomedov is seriously impressed by Kamaru Usman’s wrestling. Nurmagomedov believes that no one will be able to defeat Usman in the next couple of years.
Kamaru Usman made his professional MMA debut in November 2012. Usman was victorious in his debut fight. However, he lost his second pro MMA fight – a first-round submission loss against Jose Caceres at CFA 11 in May 2013. That said, Usman hasn’t lost ever since.
Heading into his UFC 258 fight against Gilbert Burns, Kamaru Usman holds an MMA record of 17 wins and one loss. Usman is widely regarded as one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in MMA today. Besides, Usman has received high praise from prominent MMA personalities such as UFC President Dana White and UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov.
During an interview with RT Sport MMA, Khabib Nurmagomedov opened up on a myriad of topics, including his views on UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman. Weighing in with his opinion on his friend Usman, Khabib Nurmagomedov stated:
“Out of seven billion people on the planet, I think Kamaru is one of the best at wrestling. He’s a champion, a very physical guy. We’ve been friends for a while, we’re pretty close. I don’t think that anyone will be able to beat him in the next two years. Who’s a contender now? He beat Colby Covington, Demian Maia, Jorge Masvidal, Leon Edwards. Who else? He beat Rafael dos Anjos. I think he needs some fresh blood with a good perspective. But I don’t see any real contenders for him in the near future.” (*Video courtesy: RT Sport MMA; Tweet courtesy: @Eaglesmesh)
In a nutshell, Khabib Nurmagomedov reiterated that at least for the next two years, he doesn’t see any fighter being able to defeat Kamaru Usman. The Eagle alluded that perhaps Usman might run into a worthy challenger after a few years, but he’s unlikely to struggle against any of the current top fighters at welterweight.
Kamaru Usman and Khabib Nurmagomedov are at different stages of their MMA careers
Usman is 33 years of age, whereas Nurmagomedov is 32, about a year younger than the UFC welterweight champion. Nevertheless, both fighters are at vastly different stages of their respective MMA careers.
Kamaru Usman has suggested that he’s likely to continue fighting for a few more years, whereas Khabib Nurmagomedov retired from the sport of MMA in October 2020.
Regardless of the rumors of Khabib Nurmagomedov (29-0) potentially coming back for one more UFC fight – to try to take his MMA record to 30-0 – the Dagestani combat sports legend has clarified that he has no plans of competing in a professional MMA fight ever again.
