A key moment in Khabib Nurmagomedov’s rise to greatness in the UFC happened on this day 12 years ago.
UFC 165 took place on September 21, 2013, headlined by Jon Jones’ title defense against Alexander Gustafsson. The pair’s main event closed out the card in style, as they went to war in a five-round battle that would later be inducted into the Hall of Fame.
The event is undoubtedly best remembered for that war, but a number of other prominent names also delivered standout performances. That included future star Khabib Nurmagomedov, who opened the main card in what marked the toughest test of his career up to that point on paper.
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Khabib Nurmagomedov beat a top-10 opponent for the first time at UFC 165
After winning his first four UFC fights, Nurmagomedov had his chance to make an impression against top-10 opposition.
Nurmagomedov fought Pat Healy at UFC 165, tasked with ending the American’s impressive seven-fight unbeaten run. ‘Bam Bam’ had won six fights in a row under the Strikeforce banner before his UFC debut submission win over Jim Miller was overturned to a no contest.
The former Division II collegiate wrestler was unable to continue his momentum against the rising Russian, who absorbed the 10-year veteran’s early pressure before taking over the fight and leaving Healy bloodied with some powerful strikes on the feet.
‘The Eagle’ looked invincible for much of his career but did appear to be hurt by Healy in round two of their fight. However, he was always able to rely on his elite skillset to control things and avoid any real trouble en route to three 30-27 scorecards.
While not his most impressive performance in the UFC, it was a key one on Nurmagomedov’s journey to the lightweight title and divisional GOAT status as it marked his first triumph against a top-10 rival.
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Joe Rogan disputes Khabib Nurmagomedov’s perfect 29-0 record
‘The Eagle’ continued his winning ways after that fight right up until his retirement in 2020. Nurmagomedov defeated Justin Gaethje at UFC 254 to add one final defense to his résumé before hanging up the gloves.
That decision meant the Dagestani exited the sport with his perfect record intact, but UFC color commentator Joe Rogan thinks he was fortunate to do so.
Rogan sees an asterisk on Nurmagomedov’s record, as he’s among those who believe Gleison Tibau deserved the nod from the judges in their controversial 2012 bout.
“I think that’s the one guy that should’ve beat him,” Rogan said during a UFC Paris Fight Companion.
“If you look at the record, Khabib’s got an undefeated record. There’s an asterisk. That asterisk is Gleison Tibau.
“That was a very f—ing close fight that I thought Khabib lost,” Rogan continued. “It was early in Khabib’s career. You know, it was before he won the title.”