Former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov recently shared with fans the reason why he was forced to pick a nickname after signing with the UFC in 2011.
Most Russian fighters do not have official nicknames, including welterweight champion Islam Makhachev, Umar Nurmagomedov, and Magomed Ankalaev, among others. However, Khabib was nicknamed ‘The Eagle,’ and he recently shared the reason behind the same.
In an interview with World Sports Summit, the 37-year-old revealed that he never wanted an alias, but the promotion insisted on giving him one because the UFC believed that “Khabib Nurmagomedov” was difficult to pronounce and felt he should have a nickname instead.