{"id":40070,"date":"2026-08-21T02:27:41","date_gmt":"2026-08-21T02:27:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sherdog.com\/news\/news\/Khabib-Nurmagomedov-reveals-the-UFC-fight-that-pushed-him-closest-to-his-limit-202454"},"modified":"2026-08-21T02:27:41","modified_gmt":"2026-08-21T02:27:41","slug":"khabib-nurmagomedov-reveals-the-ufc-fight-that-pushed-him-closest-to-his-limit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.martialartskleinanzeigen.com\/videos\/khabib-nurmagomedov-reveals-the-ufc-fight-that-pushed-him-closest-to-his-limit\/","title":{"rendered":"Khabib Nurmagomedov reveals the UFC fight that pushed him closest to his limit"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
<\/div>\n

Khabib
\nNurmagomedov<\/a>\u2019s toughest fight wasn’t entirely because of the
\nopponent he faced.<\/p>\n

Nurmagomedov recently revealed that the most challenging bout of
\nhis career was against Justin
\nGaethje<\/a> in 2020. The Russian successfully defended his
\nlightweight title by putting Gaethje to sleep with a triangle choke
\nin the second round. While Nurmagomedov says he has never been
\npushed to his limits in a fight, he admits Gaethje came close.<\/p>\n

\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Khabib explains why Justin Gaethje presented the toughest
\nchallenge of his undefeated career<\/h2>\n

The fight was the toughest for Nurmagomedov due to several factors
\nleading up to it. Most importantly, \u201cThe Eagle\u201d lost his father,
\nAbdulmanap Nurmagomedov, to Covid-19 before the bout. He claims it
\nwas difficult to stay composed after losing the person he was
\nfighting for in the first place.<\/p>\n

The training camp was also hard, as Nurmagomedov battled several
\ninjuries. However, the
\nUltimate Fighting Championship<\/a> Hall of Famer managed to stay
\nmentally sharp throughout.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn fights, no, you\u2019ve never seen my limit in fights. Gaethje came
\nclosest to it. First and foremost, it was because I had lost my
\nfather,\u201d Nurmagomedov told Lex Fridman. \u201cIt was hard to pull myself
\ntogether. Everything piled up at once; my father was gone. Training
\nwithout my father, without the person I was doing this for, the
\nperson I wanted to become champion for, to prove to him that I
\ncould become the best. Physically, I was not in the best shape; I
\nhad injury after injury after injury. But, mentally speaking, I
\nstayed completely sharp.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nurmagomedov (29-0) has also previously acknowledged Gaethje as the
\nhardest hitter he has ever faced. The Dagestani legend had promised
\nhis mother to never fight without his father in his corner. UFC CEO
\nDana
\nWhite<\/a> tried to convince him otherwise but couldn\u2019t entice
\nNurmagomedov to return to the Octagon.<\/p>\n