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While Khabib Nurmagomedov retired from MMA with a perfect 29-0 record, his jiu-jitsu record is not unblemished. The former UFC lightweight king was defeated by the first Russian BJJ black belt Leonid Gatovskiy in a grappling match back in 2009.
Gatovskiy managed to put Nurmagomedov on his back in the initial seconds of the match and did not allow 'The Eagle' to pull guard effectively. Gatovskiy soon passed to side control and maintained the dominant position for a substantial amount of time. Although Nurmagomedov eventually ended up on top, his opponent repeatedly threatened triangle submissions from guard. Gatovskiy eventually picked up a decision win over the future UFC lightweight champion.
Watch the match below:
Leonid Gatovskiy is a Renzo Gracie black belt who currently runs the Lion Baza club in Russia. Nurmagomedov had already ventured into MMA, fighting in promotions like Pancration when he faced the Gracie jiu-jitsu black belt.
Despite having an elite combat sambo pedigree, 'The Eagle' fell short against Gatovskiy when it came to pure submission skills. This certainly raises the question of current uncrowned lightweight king Charles Oliveira outgrappling Nurmagomedov in a potential matchup. However, it must be noted that the Dagestani legend's ever-developing skills had reached a whole new level by the end of his career in 2020.
Khabib Nurmagomedov's only amateur loss
Khabib Nurmagomedov competed in multiple disciplines before starting his professional MMA career. The Dagestani superstar started wrestling at the age of 12 and eventually ventured into judo and combat sambo.
As is rare for him, Nurmagomedov was humbled in an amateur combat sambo bout against Magomed Ibragimov in 2003. Nurmagomedov was 17 years old when he faced the 20-year-old Ibragimov in the final match of a sambo competition.
Watch the bout below:
While 'The Eagle' went toe-to-toe against Ibragimov, the latter eventually roped in a decision victory over him. The video shows Nurmagomedov putting his hands on his face and slumping to the floor in dismay as Ibragimov displays excellent sportsmanship in helping him get back to his feet. Ibragimov went on to win bronze medals in freestyle wrestling at the 2016 Olympics and 2018 Asian Games.
