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Khabib Nurmagomedov's striking skills may have been overshadowed by his excellent grappling throughout his career. However, his manager Ali Abdelaziz believes Nurmagomedov outstruck some of the best strikers in the UFC.
In a Twitter post, Abdelaziz claimed Nurmagomedov outstruck Conor McGregor, Edson Barboza and Al Iaquinta:
"@TeamKhabib Out strike Barbosa McGregor AL"
Khabib Nurmagomedov fought Conor McGregor at UFC 229 in October 2018. Nurmagomedov scored a dominant fourth-round submission victory via a rear-naked choke. 'The Eagle' landed a total of 70 significant strikes compared to McGregor's 51.
Nurmagomedov faced Edson Barboza in the co-main event at UFC 219 in December 2017. He landed four takedowns and outstruck the Brazilian 89 to 25 on his way to a dominant decision victory.
The Dagestani fighter faced Al Iaquinta for the vacant lightweight title at UFC 223 in April 2018. Nurmagomedov put a beating on 'Raging', landing 134 significant strikes to Iaquinta's 41. Furthermore, Nurmagomedov landed a total of six takedowns to earn an emphatic unanimous decision win.
Khabib Nurmagomedov talks about his striking game
Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Tony Ferguson was one of the most anticipated matchups in UFC history. Despite several attempts at setting it up, the fight never came to fruition.
Many fans and pundits believed Ferguson's unorthodox style would have exposed chinks in Nurmagomedov's striking. However, 'The Eagle' never doubted his standup, even against an unpredictable striker like Ferguson.
During an interview with FOX Sports before his scheduled matchup with Ferguson at UFC 209 in 2017, Nurmagomedov had this to say about his striking:
“What’s interesting, all my amateur and my professional 24 fights, maybe three or four times guys catch me in the last 12 or 13 years. I have many fights and people still talk about my striking game but I don’t know why. Only Michael Johnson one time catch me but I fight with Rafael dos Anjos and other top guys like [Abel] Trujillo, [Gleison] Tibau, Pat Healy, a lot of top guys in the UFC. Outside of the UFC, I fight with a lot of high-level striking guys and nobody catches me.”
