It has been almost four years since ‘The Eagle’ stepped away from the cage but the Dsegestani is still the heartthrob for many. His spartan regime and his work ethic have inspired millions around the world. For others, his wholesome banter with Daniel Cormier and his crew is a source of healthy comedy.
Recently an old hilarious video of the fighter surfaced on the internet. This was before his lightweight bout against Brazilian Gleison Tibau at UFC 148. In the chuckle-worthy clip, Nurmagomedov and crew play a skit where they discover a Brazilian spy after one of them brings to the Dagestanis’ attention, a light yellow underwear!
Realizing that his cover has been blown, the supposed spy makes a run for it only to be caught by the crew who chases him in the night. The video cuts to a black screen and then Nurmagomedov is seen saying, “He ‘seemed’ like a nice guy…”
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Upon seeing the riotous clip and witnessing the former lightweight champion having a ball with his buddy, an ardent fan got reminiscent of his time in the UFC –
“Miss Khabib fighting so much.”
The old clip uploaded by the popular MMA page Homeoffight already has more than five thousand likes and hundreds of comments in a very small span of time.
Even former welterweight title contender Gilbert Burns couldn’t help but to give his approval, liking the post. On the other hand, acknowledging the Brazilian accent in the video and the supposed Brazilian’s dialogue, one fan drew in an Alex Pereira reference that goes by,
“must’ve been on the phone with pereira talkin bout chama at the end thete.”
Another fan pointed out that Nurmagomedov‘s teammate Islam Makahchev really did Tibau a favor, ending the match in a jiffy with a vicious KO!
“Islam KOed tibau better but this skit is just funny and so Russian.”
Others were in splits seeing the indomitable former champion displaying his funny side without any filter.
“hilarious”
LOL is the perfect reaction this video.
Amidst the fans cheering the former UFC fighter, there were casuals who took the opportunity to bash him, deeming that ‘The Eagle’ barely survived in that fight against Tibau. Outstruck by the Brazilian, Nurmagomedov did just enough to get himself a close decision win but like MMA ‘analysts say, was it the Dagestani’s only loss?
Let us go back in time to look at the bout.
Blast to the past: The only time Khabib Nurmagomedov was close to losing
Most fans and Khabib detractors deem his fight against Tibau as a highway robbery. While the word ‘robbery’ has become casual with anyone and everyone throwing around the word with little regard, let us dissect the 3 round fight in detail laying out the numbers. The fight took place in 2012 and was the Russian’s second bout and for the Brazilian it was his 16th.
A 23-year-old Khabib Nurmagomedov was up against a seasoned veteran and the fight reminded the youngster that he needs to hone his game. Even though, all three judges scored in favor of the younger fighter, handing a 30-27 decision to Nurmagomedov, the Brazilian clearly won in the standup game, outclassing the Dagestani. In fact, Tibau won the significant strike battle by a narrow margin of 28-25 all while having an advantage in total strikes, 46-33.
Even ‘The Eagle’s’ renowned wrestling game was ineffective against the seasoned veteran. Tibau stuffed every one of Nurmagomedov’s takedowns and later it became one of the two fights where the undefeated fighter was unable to take his opponent down. Surprisingly after the bout, the judges gave the decision to the Dagestani, extending his winning streak to two.
As for Tibau, the fighter was caught using a banned substance and this eventually tarnished his legacy as most experts wrote off his performance against Nurmagomedov.
