UFC Hall of Famer Daniel Cormier believes fellow legend Khabib Nurmagomedov stands alone at the top of MMA history, arguing that an immaculate career record puts him in a league of his own.
Nurmagomedov (29-0) retired in 2020 as an undefeated, undisputed UFC lightweight champion with three title defenses. While critics often argue he walked away too soon, DC believes Khabib’s flawless resume speaks for itself.
Given the chaos and unpredictability of combat sports, Cormier stresses that going an entire career without a single loss is almost impossible. Furthermore, he strictly eliminates Jon Jones and Anderson Silva from the debate due to their drug-testing violations.
“I don’t include Jones and Anderson Silva,” Cormier told ALF Global. “If you have drug-testing issues, you don’t get to be in the GOAT conversation. For me, it boils down to Khabib and Georges St-Pierre—and I lean toward Khabib because he’s undefeated.”
Cormier emphasized just how unforgiving the sport is, especially early on:
“In fighting, it’s so easy to lose—especially in Russia, where at 5-0 or 6-0 you’re already facing absolute killers. It’s so easy to make a mistake. Look at Jon Jones: as great as he is, he has one loss because he made a mistake.”
“Khabib never made a mistake. He never got disqualified, never got caught in a submission, nothing. To step into that octagon 29 times against the world’s best and win every single time? I honestly don’t get why more people don’t see it this way. Georges St-Pierre has two losses. Demetrious Johnson has losses. Everyone lost—except Khabib.”
Cormier even pointed to Khabib’s protégé, Islam Makhachev, to highlight the achievement:
“Even Islam, as dominant as he is, made one mistake. And he’s as close to Khabib as anyone gets. To never lose is crazy—especially early in his career when his striking wasn’t fully developed, and he relied almost entirely on his wrestling.”
While Khabib’s legacy is set, Makhachev is busy forging his own path to immortality. Having already broken the record for most lightweight title defenses, the current UFC welterweight champion (28-1 MMA) looks to shatter the record for most consecutive victories when he defends his 170-pound crown against Ian Machado Garry (17-1 MMA) in the main event of UFC 330.
