‘Al Iaquinta Wasn’t Even Ranked at the Time’- Former UFC Lightweight Champion Weighs In on Khabib Nurmagomedov’s Place in the Lightweight GOAT Discussion
Khabib Nurmagomedov’s place amongst the GOAT’s of the lightweight division is often talked about by fans and fighters in the MMA community. By many, he is seen as the lightweight GOAT due to his unblemished 29-0 record. However, some have brought into question the quality of his early wins in the UFC.
Former lightweight champion Anthony Pettis was one such former UFC fighter who called into question Nurmagomedov’s GOAT status. According to ‘Showtime’, Nurmagomedov won the belt against mid-ranked lightweight Al Iaquinta and this victory seriously hampers his claim as an all-time GOAT.
Anthony Pettis went on to explain how Iaquinta was nowhere near the top 5 of the UFC’s rankings and wasn’t in the running for title contention. Instead, Pettis looks at B.J. Penn as the lightweight GOAT for his near indomitable run during his UFC career.
“You know, I think – I moved down to ‘45, I fought at ‘70 – I fought all over the place,” Pettis said to LowKick MMA. “It’s hard to say Khabib (Nurmagomedov) because he didn’t fight everybody. He won the world title fighting Al Iaquinta.”
“Al Iaquinta wasn’t even ranked at the time, so, you know,” Pettis continued. “And then he fought some good guys after that and then he retired, so it’s hard to say he’s the GOAT. He’s definitely one of the best. But like, guys like B.J. Penn, you know – like that’s a guy for me that, you know, if he wouldn’t have came back and lost a couple of fights, we all would be talking about B.J. as the GOAT, you know, one of the first.” [h/t bjpenn.com]
Khabib Nurmagomedov’s undefeated record is certainly nothing to scoff at and the quality of his wins against Dustin Poirier and Justin Gaethje to wrap up his career will certainly hold a lot of merit going forward.
It remains to be seen how Khabib Nurmagomedov’s legacy will be looked at as he’s never faced Charles Oliveira. ‘Do Bronx’ has become a force in the division and many fans are intrigued about who would win when placing them against each other stylistically.
Nurmagomedov’s protégé in Islam Makhachev will aim to answer all questions and leave nothing to doubt.
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