“Khabib is a f****** little b**** too. Who’d he beat for the title? He got Dustin Poirier [and] Justin Gaethje. They both been finished off over and over the same way that he beat them. It’s like, you ain’t no good. You’re a scared fighter, scared of fighting the whole time and now you’re in the Hall of Fame?”These are the scathing words of Nate Diaz regarding the much-revered Khabib Nurmagomedov. The Russian is usually held in high esteem by everyone around the UFC, unless you’re Conor McGregor of course, and so this is a rare negative appraisal of Khabib.He still holds the record for the longest stint as lightweight champion, with the belt being his in excess of 1,000 minutes. In spite of what Diaz had to say, he was part of some hugely popular fights that will be remembered for years to come.In his earlier years as a UFC fighter, he saw off the likes of Gleison Tibau and Rafael dos Anjos. Going into his prime years, he continued to win consistently, ending his pro-MMA career at 29-0.He won the accolade of Performance of the Night three times, first when he beat Edson Barboza via unanimous decision in late December of 2017 in Vegas. The other two came in Abu Dhabi in 2019 and 2020, where he choked out both Dustin Poirier and Justin Gaethje, with the latter being the final fight of his illustrious career. Diaz may have a point that these two have suffered career-damaging defeats a few times now, but he beat them all the same, and did so with relative ease, which just goes to show how good and dominant he was inside the Octagon.

Diaz and Khabib never went head-to-head themselves, but the former lost to Dos Anjos and Conor McGregor at various points, two men that the latter of course got the better of.

It seems as if the California man would be fighting a losing battle in pushing this narrative that Khabib doesn’t deserve a spot in the Hall of Fame.