Khabib Nurmagomedov reflecting on Dustin Poirier nearly submitting him in front of his father

Khabib Nurmagomedov is a hard man.

The longest-reigning UFC lightweight champion was undefeated throughout his career in MMA and had never lost a round until his epic showdown with Conor McGregor.

In the lead up to that bout, Khabib’s mental strength was demonstrated, with chilling pre-fight footage seeing him stay cool as McGregor got right into his face.

Now, footage from his victory over Dustin Poirier in September 2019 has emerged.

Khabib won the fight via a rear-naked choke submission in the third round, but he so very nearly lost the fight as well. It was a close call and the footage shows the inspiration for his escape from a submission and subsequent victory. His father.

Khabib’s father was approximately two metres away from the American locking the Russian in a submission, and reflecting on the fight and that particular moment, Khabib said: “I’m thinking like Dustin is crazy guy, he thinks I’m going to tap in front of my father.”

Khabib: "Dustin is creazy that he thought I would tap in front of my father":