Khabib Nurmagomedov isn't the lightweight GOAT, says former UFC champion

Khabib Nurmagomedov cannot be considered the lightweight GOAT because ‘he didn’t fight everybody’, according to former UFC champion Anthony Pettis.

Nurmagomedov, 32, retired as a MMA fighter in 2020 after beating Justin Gaethje at UFC 264.

His unbeaten record stands at 29-0 and with the former pound-for-pound king’s retirement he is no longer at risk of losing the hallowed 0.

But when asked for his honest on the Dagestani wrestler, Pettis isn’t sold on the idea that Nurmagomedov is the greatest of all time.

Pettis told LowKick MMA: “You know, I think – I moved down to 145, I fought at 170 – I fought all over the place.

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“It’s hard to say Khabib 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.

“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.”

Neither, as it transpires, is Joe Lauzon.

Like Pettis, Lauzon, or ‘J-Lau’ as he is otherwise known, doesn’t think Nurmagomedov is the best of the lot.

Instead, that honour falls to UFC Hall of Famer, B.J. Penn.

Speaking to talkSPORT, he said: “B.J. Penn. Always, always, always. I think B.J. is the best.

“I understand Khabib did great and he was undefeated, but to me, it’s just B.J.

“He was the first guy with amazing ju-jitsu, good offensive and defensive wrestling, great striking – could crack with both hands – and he’s