Russia’s Khabib Nurmagomedov is one of the titans of mixed martial arts. Never defeated, he has the longest unbeaten streak in the sport’s history and is the current UFC Lightweight Champion. He is a two-time World Champion in the Combat Sambo form of wrestling. Fighting fellow legend Conor McGregor, he participated in the biggest MMA pay-per-view of all-time. With nearly 21 million followers, he is also the most-followed Russian celebrity on Instagram.

Nurmagomedov was born in Dagestan, Russia in 1988. Wrestling is a common sport in Dagestan, and Nurmagomedov took it up at a young age — a famous video shows him at nine years old wrestling a bear. He also trained in judo, becoming a black belt. He made his MMA debut in 2008, beginning an undefeated streak of 16 matches across Russia and Ukraine that brought him to the attention of UFC in America. He signed up in 2011 and quickly made an impression, winning one match with the most successful takedowns ever achieved in a UFC fight. He was awarded International Fighter of the Year at the 2016 World MMA Awards.

In April 2018, he became UFC Lightweight Champion, becoming the first Russian and first Muslim to win a UFC title. In October that year, his title defence against Conor McGregor sold over 2.4 million pay-per-views, making it the UFC’s most-watched event. The event ended in controversy and worldwide publicity when bad blood between the two men erupted into cage-side fights. Nurmagomedov was suspended but returned to successfully defend his title in 2019.