What martial arts does Khabib Nurmagomedov know?

Khabib Nurmagomedov is widely regarded as the greatest MMA fighter of all time. Retiring from the cage with a record of 29-0 and the UFC Lightweight Championship belt in his collection, the Dagestani fighter earned his name through his brutal displays. When fighting, he liked to maul and smash his opponents, both beating them up mentally and physically. Arguably his biggest contribution to MMA was his fighting style which used grappling and takedowns to great effect.

You could say that after Khabib, MMA was never the same again as his style introduced a whole new strategy that was built around takedowns. With this said, you could also argue that Khabib was a true mixed martial artist as he could also land some big strikes. Contrary to this, many people still believe that he’s little more than a wrestler, which is a huge disservice to the man. Read on to understand what martial arts Khabib Nurmagomedov uses in MMA.

Sambo

Perhaps Khabib’s best skill is his Sambo. This is a Russian martial art that was heavily inspired by Judo. In fact, many of the throws used in Sambo originated from Judo. The difference is that you can also grab the legs and Sambo practitioners wear shorts. Secondly, there are generally less rules in Sambo whilst it also has a lot more submissions and leg attacks.

Before his MMA run, Khabib was actually a Sambo Champion and also competed in Combat Sambo. This is very similar to MMA but has a few different rules. This would have been great practice for Khabib before fully transitioning into MMA. In the cage, Khabib would use his Sambo to take people down to the floor. This would look like a cross between wrestling and Judo.

Judo

Khabib has gone on to say that Judo is the best martial art. The reason for this is that it can end fights instantly if you land in a dominant position. For self defense, Judo is excellent as well. Although many people think of Khabib as a Sambo and wrestling expert, he’s actually very skilled in Judo and has a black belt in the art. Below, Khabib uses a beautiful Judo takedown on his opponent.

In fact, one of Khabib’s most successful throws was the Harai Goshi which he hit perfectly against Rafael Dos Anjos. This obviously complements his other stand up grappling skills perfectly. If ever you’ve sparred against a skilled Judoka, then you’ll know their base and weight distribution is perfect. This may have been one reason why Khabib was impossible to takedown.

Wrestling

To cap off his excellent stand up grappling skills, Khabib was also reliant on lots of wrestling moves. This would mean the fundamentals such as single and double leg takedowns and high crotch lifts. However, the genius of Khabib was combining his wrestling from the feet to the floor. For example, if he got a body lock on an opponent whilst standing, he would then stomp them down against the cage.

He would then keep the body lock and use it to pass the guard and get into a pinning position. Wrestling isn’t just good for technique either. Physically, this would have big benefits for Khabib, who was known for being insanely strong. Mentally, wrestlers are known for being tough and gritty too, with a never-give-up mentality.

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu

Whilst a lot is known about his stand up grappling, less is talked about his ground game which is equally good. For instance, 9 of his 29 wins came from submissions which says a lot. Obviously, a lot of his takedowns would lead to Khabib gaining a top position on the floor. From there, he would often get a body lock on his opponents and wrap his legs around their own.

This would effectively pin his opponent’s body to the floor which was especially effective against the cage. From here, he would work his way to mount and either win by punches or go for submissions such as the Kimura or chokes if the opportunity presented itself. Even off his back, Khabib had good BJJ and won a few bouts by triangle choke. It would have been a shame if Khabib had great takedowns without being able to use grappling on the ground. Thankfully for him, his pressure from the ground was also top class.

Muay Thai and boxing

Due to his elite grappling skills, many people have lazily labeled him as a grappler throughout the years. Whilst this is true to an extent, he’s also much more and his striking was also high level. For example, against Conor McGregor (a supposedly better striker), Khabib floored the Irishman with a punch of his own. In short, Khabib would use conventional boxing whilst standing mixed in with Muay Thai.

Sometimes he would use Thai knees against the cage to hurt and grind down his opponents. As seen below, Khabib uses basic boxing footwork to defend against Dustin Poirier’s strikes.

Obviously, Khabib fought in an era where you couldn’t get away with only relying on grappling. This meant that over the years, his striking got better and better. Against good boxers, he had to defend whilst standing which meant good footwork was key. Without boxing, his takedowns simply wouldn’t have worked as well and he’d have had a massive hole in his game.

So, what martial arts didn’t Khabib use then?

So far, we’ve looked at what martial arts Khabib specializes in. As you can see, he is incredibly well rounded with no significant holes in his game. What’s quite notable about Khabib is that he doesn’t use too many traditional martial arts though. For example, he doesn’t really use the likes of Karate, TKD, or Wing Chun. Arguably, these arts aren’t needed in MMA when you have Khabib’s skillset which covers all angles.

It should also be noted that he also compete in Pankration before switching to MMA which is kind of like a lite version of MMA. In conclusion, it’s no surprise that Khabib was so dominant in MMA. With his brilliant grappling and striking skills, he was often viewed as an unsolved puzzle with regards to opponents trying to figure out his weaknesses.