No one in the UFC had a run like Khabib Nurmagomedov. Even though there were fighters who had superstar status, ‘The Eagle’s’ undefeated run is truly unmatched and unlikely to be repeated. But which one of those 29 fights was Khabib’s favorite?
Recently, the undefeated Dagestani fighter took things to his social media to repost a clip from his fighting days, sharing a reel of his bout against the ever-dangerous Edson Barboza.
Khabib recalls his "fun" fight against Edson Barboza at UFC 219 pic.twitter.com/l1in8Sod5T
— THE UFCGUY (@the_ufcguy) June 10, 2024
During that period, Barboza was hailed as Nurmagomedov’s kryptonite given his dangerous and dynamic striking. However, Khabib shattered all expectations when he out-struck the kickboxer and took him apart on with his relentless ground and pound.
The bout was so brutal that Barboza’s longtime coach Mark Henry still gets nightmares in his sleep as he recalls the Russian’s chilling message in the middle of the bout.
Khabib Nurmagomedov’s cold message to Barboza’s coach
UFC 219 saw the then #2 ranked Khabib Nurmagomedov take on the #4 ranked LW, Edson Barboza in a three-rounded fight in the co-main event of the evening. While many had Barboza win in their books, and anticipated a beat-down from the more polished striker, Khabib destroyed the Brazilian and crushed his spirit.
To be fair, Barboza did find some success, getting in some leg kicks but once ‘The Eagle’ got a hold of him, he quickly flipped the script. And it remained unchanged for all three rounds with a control time of over 10 minutes, where Barboza got his face smashed in by Khabib.
Barboza’s coach, Henry still to this day gets chills when he recalls that fight.
Mid-fight, while he was giving his fighter advice, urging him to stay on course with their strategy and not let the Russian take his back, Khabib simply turned to his corner and said there was no escape for Barboza.
Edson Barboza's coach Mark Henry recounting his experience of when Khabib talked with him while fighting Barboza https://t.co/zm1zdki6Cd pic.twitter.com/Juw83XCKhH
— 𝕽𝖆𝖎𝖓𝖒𝖆𝖐𝖊𝖗❂ (@Sa_Gwang) March 2, 2024
Henry has even called the former UFC champ the scariest human being after Mike Tyson. One can only imagine what it must be like being crushed underneath the mountain man as he tries to punch holes through your face for round after round after round.
