Morten Jourse

Tournament: ProFC 36

Date and place: October 22, 2011, Khasavyurt (Russia)

The first canceled match with the participation of Khabib Nurmagomedov occurred in the fall of 2011. By that time, the 23-year-old Russian already had a series of 15 victories in a row and was preparing to make his debut in the Absolute Fighting Championship. In the last fight under the auspices of ProFC, he had to fight with Morten Jursa. Looking ahead, we can say that during his career the Dane has not been marked by serious achievements and did not get the opportunity to declare himself in one of the largest MMA promotions on the planet.

The meeting with the future UFC champion could well become a memorable line in the athlete’s resume, but due to the circumstances, the most formidable of his opponents remained Nicolas Dolby. In 2013, he knocked out a compatriot, after which he spent five fights in the Absolute Fighting Championship. And he got the better of strong Alex Oliveira and Eliseu Dos Santos. The latter is known to Russian fans for the tournament in Brazil, in which he was stronger than Alexei Kunchenko.

However, in October 2011, less than a day before the ProFC 36 show, Jursa withdrew from the fight and was replaced by Arimarsel Santos. At that time, the Brazilian had a track record of 28 victories and 22 losses and, as expected, could not oppose anything to the Russian. It took Nurmagomedov only 3 minutes 33 seconds to “score” an opponent in the stalls and for the fifth time celebrate success by TKO.

Gilbert Melendez

Tournament: UFC 170

Date and place: February 22, 2014, Las Vegas (USA)

It was not Nurmagomedov's fault that the fight with Melendez did not take place, a victory over which could give a serious impetus to the career of a Russian. At that time, the ex-champion of Strikeforce was considered one of the stars of the light division, even despite the defeat from Benson Henderson in the title fight. Suffice it to say that despite the cancellation of the battle with Habib, in December of that year, El Nino again got a chance to argue for the belt, but again lost. This time, Anthony Pettis held a successful defense, during the second round he caught an opponent on the guillotine.

It is noteworthy that, as in the case of Jursa, the reasons for the cancellation of the battle were not named. Moreover, the initiative came precisely from the team of Melendez, who suddenly did not want to fight with Nurmagomedov. Rumor had it that his teammate Nate Diaz could replace Gilbert, but this did not happen in the end. It is worth noting that in the light of relations between the camps, this duel would be extremely intriguing. Subsequently, large-scale conflicts repeatedly erupted between them, and one of them will develop into a real massacre. In 2015, athletes will fight during the World Series of Fighting 22 show, and not only fists but also improvised items will be put into action.

As a result, Nurmagomedov was forced to abandon his performance at the same tournament as Ronda Rousey and two months later took a place on the undercard of the UFC on FOX 11. There, the Russian won one of the most important victories in the first stage of his career in the championship, having dealt with Rafael Dos Agnos. Subsequently, the Brazilian will make serious progress under the leadership of Andre Pederneyras and before the Russians will take the lightweight belt, but this will only do him a favor. After this, many will begin to perceive Khabib as an uncrowned champion and will pre-register with the elite of the division.

Donald Cerrone (1)

Tournament: UFC 178

Date and place: September 27, 2014, Las Vegas (USA)

In the fall of 2014, a difficult period began in Nurmagomedov’s career, during which he began to worry about one injury after another. After defeating Dos Agnos, he was ready to storm the top of the category, but twice in a row he could not fight with Donald Cerrone. At that time, the Cowboy had a much more stellar status and, according to many experts, once had to pick up a belt. But then it was still not adequately aware of the inability of the American to show his maximum at key moments.

The fate of the canceled battle between Nurmagomedov and Cerrone was commented on by UFC President Dana White. According to him, at the end of July, the organization managed to conclude a contract with the athletes for the fight, but 20 minutes after that, the Russians reported that Khabib received a severe knee injury during training and had to go to surgery. Subsequently, this information was confirmed by the father of the future champion. He stated that his son was diagnosed with a rupture of the cruciate ligaments and meniscus of the right knee, which require surgical intervention.

Donald Cerrone (2)

Tournament: UFC 187

Date and place: May 23, 2015, Las Vegas (USA)

However, this did not stop the matchmakers, who made a second attempt to arrange a battle with the participation of athletes. This time it was planned at the UFC 187 status show, which also included two title fights in the card: light heavyweight champion John Jones had to face off with Anthony Johnson, and middleweight title holder Chris Weidman with Vitor Belfort.

But two of the three fights were not destined to take place. First, Nurmagomedov was again injured, and then Jones made an accident, as a result of which a pregnant woman suffered. An investigation was initiated against him, and the promotion not only removed him from the event, but also took the title and removed it from the ratings.

As for Nurmagomedov, the problem was again in his knee. Three weeks before the show, he injured the meniscus. Presumably, this happened during a shadow fight. As a result, Cerrone got into the opponents of John McDessey, who was much inferior in the class, and won, breaking his jaw. And Nurmagomedov was forced to undergo another operation on his right knee, but this time in Los Angeles.

Tony Ferguson (1)

Tournament: UFC The Ultimate Fighter 22 Finale

Date and place: December 11, 2015, Las Vegas (USA)

After that, a stage began in the career of Orel, known to almost every MMA fan. It was from the end of 2015 that a protracted series of attempts to organize a duel between Nurmagomedov and Ferguson began, none of which to this day have been crowned with success. It’s scary to think, but the first of them is dated December 2015. Then Habib and Tony were not unambiguously considered the best lightweights of the planet, and Conor McGregor was only preparing to conquer the semi-light division.

For Nurmagomedov, it was very important to fight Ferguson in December 2015, because otherwise it would have been 20 months simple. But at the end of October, he broke a rib and was again forced to postpone his return to the octagon. As Habib himself admitted, it was at that moment that he was thinking about ending his career.

“I want to apologize to my fans, I broke my rib and again left the fight. I really wanted to come back. I’m not sure if I’ll ever return at all, ”Nurmagomedov wrote on Instagram then.

Tony Ferguson (2)

Tournament: UFC on FOX 19

Date and place: April 16, 2016, Tampa (USA)

At the end of 2015, the promotion leaders could not have thought that the epic between Nurmagomedov and Ferguson would drag on for five years, so the matchmakers for the second time tried to arrange a meeting of the lightweight elite, making it the main event of the show in Tampa. But this time, the organizers were upset by Tony, whose ten days before the fight blood and fluid were found in the lungs.

“UFC officials want me to wait for an injured Tony Ferguson. But when I got injured, he didn’t do that, but had a fight with Edson Barbosa. Why should I do it differently? Why do I need it? I'm ready for a fight. No matter what weight, 70 kg or 77. Now I need an opponent. My country and my fans have been waiting for my return for a long time, so I need to fight, ”Nurmagomedova quoted ToFight.

For Nurmagomedov, too much was at stake, so he decided not to withdraw from the show, but to fight with any of the opponents proposed to him. As a result, no worthy opponent was found, and the debutant of the promotion Darrell Horcher entered the cage.

Former champion of regional promotion Cage Fury FC was clearly below the level and for one and a half rounds suffered a real beating. As a result, he lasted 8 minutes 38 seconds, and Habib triumphantly returned to the cage after a two-year absence. Moreover, this duel took place not in the lightweight habitual for the Russian, but in the intermediate - up to 72.6 kg.

Tony Ferguson (3)

Tournament: UFC 209

Date and place: March 4, 2017, Las Vegas (USA)

Three years ago, Nurmagomedov and Ferguson were closest to finally fighting each other. The UFC again added their fight to the card of one of its tournaments, but this time it was reinsured. The organization did not begin to designate it as the main event of the evening, which is why the lightweights were on the back of Tyron Woodley and Stephen Thompson. Those fought a landmark battle in November 2016 at the first ever show in New York, and in Las Vegas, they again had to fight for the welterweight title.

As in December 2015, Nurmagomedov’s body could not stand it. It's no secret that the future UFC champion is forced to lose about 20 kg before each fight, which at that moment became an insurmountable obstacle for him. It was reported that the athlete was hospitalized due to problems with the liver or kidneys caused by a sharp weight loss.

Despite the fact that later many athletes close to Nurmagomedov in every possible way denied the information about the difficulties with the weight-gainer, his father and trainer Abdulmanap actually confirmed these guesses. In December 2017, he admitted that he was aware of the situation and himself advised his son not to speak at UFC 209.

“Once he and Umar soared together, and then Habib asked his brother:“ When did you come? ” This was the last weight loss. That is, they were together, but he did not remember when he entered. Memory failures occur during large weight lifters. This signal was immediately sent to me, and I immediately gave a command to the doctor Shamil from the national team of Dagestan. I said: "Give him an injection and take him off the battle." It was my order. Is there a person to whom he is more precious than to me, as a son and student? ” - said Nurmagomedov Sr. 8news.

But if in 2015 the UFC managed to orient and find a replacement for Nurmagomedov, then this time it was too late. Habib withdrew from the show the day before, so it was not possible to find a replacement.

Tony Ferguson (4)

Tournament: UFC 223

Date and place: April 7, 2018, Brooklyn (USA)

Despite the numerous injuries of both fighters, in the spring of 2018, both were the main stars of the UFC lightweight division. McGregor focused on the fight with Floyd Mayweather Jr. and left the belt, and Ferguson became the interim champion. At the same time, Nurmagomedov earned the status of the first applicant and again made White think about organizing their duel. And this despite the fact that after UFC 209, Dana started to never try to reduce them in a cage again.

Initially, everything went well, but less than a week before the show Ferguson tore his knee ligaments, tripping over a television cable. What is noteworthy, this happened not at home, but in the studio of the FOX television channel. There he was engaged in the promotion of the upcoming battle with Nurmagomedov, recording an interview. However, these circumstances did not prevent White from depriving El Kukuy of his time zone and looking for a replacement for Khabib.

All in all, that week was one of the wildest in UFC history. The situation with the cancellation of the main fight of the evening and the hardest search for an opponent for the Russians was aggravated by McGregor, who attacked a bus with fighters. As a result, Michael Chiesa and Ray Borg were injured and were forced to refuse to perform on the show, and Artyom Lobov was removed from him for helping to organize an attack on the vehicle.

For several days, Nurmagomedov immediately changed several opponents, and Max Holloway, Anthony Pettis and Paul Felder could go out with him into the cage. But in the end, the choice fell on the 11th ranking number of Al Yakvintu. The American, as expected, was unable to provide worthy resistance to the Russian, who became the champion of the UFC.

Tony Ferguson (5)

Tournament: UFC 249

Date and place: April 18, 2020, unknown

To hold the third title defense in a battle that has never been equal in the Absolute Fighting Championship (before fighters with a series of 12 or more victories had never met in the octagon), the coronavirus pandemic prevented Nurmagomedov. Many fans of mixed martial arts hastened to accuse the Russian of cowardice and using the situation to avoid meeting with a principled opponent. However, White later clarified the situation in an interview with ESPN and stated that the UFC had indeed sent the reigning champion to the UAE, and then to Russia, and urged him not to blame him.