Why they rank here
The most dominant grappler the sport has known, Khabib retired flawless at 29-0, having barely lost a round across his entire career. A multiple-time combat sambo world champion from Dagestan, he built a smothering, cage-crushing wrestling style — 'send them off,' as his father put it — that no opponent solved. He won the vacant lightweight title against Al Iaquinta at UFC 223 in 2018, then defended it in the biggest fight in company history, submitting Conor McGregor by neck crank in the fourth round at UFC 229 before roughly 2.4 million pay-per-view buyers. He followed with submissions of Dustin Poirier and, in his final bout, a third-round triangle choke of Justin Gaethje at UFC 254 in 2020. He retired immediately afterward, honoring a promise to his mother following his father's death, walking away perfect.
Career profile
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