Undisputed light heavyweight boxing champion Dmitry Bivol believes a street fight with Khabib Nurmagomedov wouldn’t last long.
Dmitry Bivol and Khabib Nurmagomedov are two of the greatest combat sports athletes to come out of Russia in recent years. The two fighting dynamos dominated most of their career opponents except for Bivol’s controversial loss to Artur Beterbiev in October.
MMA and boxing are two unique combat sports disciplines. While Bivol holds a distinct advantage with his striking, Nurmagomedov is arguably the greatest wrestler to ever compete in the cage.
If Bivol and Nurmagomedov were competing in a street fight, Bivol acknowledges that it would be hard to imagine it going well in his favor.
Dmitry Bivol makes a surprising admission about a fantasy fight with Khabib Nurmagomedov
During a recent interview, Bivol was asked how he’d match up against Nurmagomedov in a no-holds-barred fight.
“[LAUGHS] To be honest, MMA is closer to a street fight. No point in hiding it,” Bivol acknowledged.
For Nurmagomedov, the only person he’d be willing to face off with in a street fight is Conor McGregor. Nurmagomedov and McGregor had one of the darkest buildups to a UFC fight in combat sports history, ahead of Nurmagomedov’s submission win at UFC 229.
As for Bivol, he’d had cordial buildups to most of his fights during his illustrious career in the ring. His rivalry with Beterbiev was the closest thing to getting personal for Bivol, and a trilogy fight between the two sides seems inevitable after their recent instant classic rematch.
Khabib Nurmagomedov nearing potential MMA coaching retirement
Nurmagomedov has taken off as an MMA coach since retiring from fighting in 2020. He dropped the gloves after a successful lightweight title defense against Justin Gaethje at UFC 254.
Since then, Nurmagomedov has advised some of the top talents in MMA, including UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev and his cousin Umar. But Nurmagomedov could potentially be in his final months of coaching.
Nurmagomedov acknowledged that when his current understudies are done competing, he’ll walk away from coaching without looking back. It’s a surprising admission given Nurmagomedov’s quick ascent as one of the greatest coaches in combat sports.
Nurmagomedov urged his one-time rival Tony Ferguson to retire after Ferguson’s loss to Michael Chiesa. Nurmagomedov and Ferguson were scheduled to fight multiple times in their careers, but in a bizarre twist of fate, the fight never came to fruition due to a variety of issues.
In the meantime, Bivol remains in his physical prime and appears set to face either David Benavidez or Beterbiev for his next undisputed title defense. Bivol and Nurmagomedov seem cordial, and a potential street fight is nothing more than a fantasy.
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