Does Khabib Nurmagomedov have cauliflower ear?

Khabib Nurmagomedov is the ex-UFC Lightweight champion and is known for retiring from MMA with a perfect 29-0 record. During this time, his relentless style won him masses of fans, where he would wrestle his opponents to the floor, smother them, then knock them out or submit them. Very rarely has the MMA world seen a fighter as good as Khabib, which is why many regard him as the greatest ever.

However, victory often comes at a high price. This is particularly true for Khabib whose ears are mangled and are a testament to his career. Remember, this is fighting after all and most fighters pick up battle scars along the way. Khabib is no different and as a result, he has a strong case of cauliflower ear. Below, we shall go into more detail about how this came about and whether he can reverse the damage done to his ears.

Why does Khabib’s ear look like that?

Cauliflower ear is the term given when ears get damaged internally. In layman’s terms, the blood can get trapped in one part of the ear due to severe swelling which can be caused by fighting. During this time, the ear can balloon in size and feel quite puffy. After this period, the ear will sometimes return back to normal if the blood circulation resumes in time. If not, then it will harden which results in cauliflower ear. The term is given because the ears sometimes resemble the image of a cauliflower.

Regarding the specifics of Khabib’s cauliflower ear, it will have mostly occurred due to grappling which he’s done from a young age. Basically, if your ear keeps getting rubbed and smothered with force, then this can lead to cauliflower ear which has been explained previously. Based on the main image, it looks like Khabib shoots most of his takedowns with his right ear touching his opponent. Over the years, this ear will have undoubtedly taken some damage in this sense.

The other way of getting cauliflower ear is by taking punches by the ear. Generally speaking, Khabib won’t have taken too many punches to his ears as he’s predominantly a grappler. However, this explains how boxers get cauliflower ears without ever spending time wrestling. Khabib will have taken punches to his ears over the years, but for the most part they would be damaged due to years of grappling and doing takedowns. This can be seen with his fighting style which uses lots of close contact and pressure with his head. Whilst this is effective for MMA, it will also lead to greater chances of developing cauliflower ear.

Can Khabib fix his ears?

Khabib is from Dagestan and culturally, cauliflower ear is the sign of a fighter. With this said, it looks like Khabib is happy with his cauliflower ear and will not choose to get them fixed. However, if he wanted to then he could undergo surgery to re-shape his ear. Having said this, even with an expert in the field, it may be quite tough to re-work the central part of his ear. Still, it would certainly appear more normal compared to his current look.

Whilst this is one way of fixing cauliflower ear, another method is fixing it as quickly as possible. When the ear begins to inflate, you can drain it with a needle or even magnets which compress and help lessen swelling. This sometimes works for some people but doesn’t always work for others. However, for Khabib this simply isn’t an option as his ears have long since fixed into a solid state. In short, if he was desperate though – surgery would definitely be an option.