- Khabib Nurmagomedov was confirmed as a Hall of Fame fighter Saturday.
- But he was "pissed off" the night he was told he'd be inducted, according to UFC boss Dana White.
- The UFC president will induct Nurmagomedov at a ceremony in Las Vegas this summer.
LAS VEGAS — Khabib Nurmagomedov was "pissed off" on the night he got told he'd be inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame later this year.
The 33-year-old retired after a submission win over Justin Gaethje at a behind-closed-doors event Insider attended in October 2020.
He sent the American to sleep with the chokehold, dropped to his knees, cried in the middle of the Octagon, and gave an emotional speech.
It brought to an end a career in which he defeated top-tier opponents Rafael dos Anjos, Edson Barboza, Conor McGregor, Dustin Poirier, and Gaethje — all while barely losing a round.
The Hall of Fame announcement was made Saturday during the UFC 272 event that took place inside the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, much to the surprise of fans, and even media, in attendance.
A two-minute promo clip started playing on the jumbotron, and on the ESPN pay-per-view broadcast.
"I grew up in the mountain, I'm coming from nowhere," Nurmagomedov could be heard saying at the start of the clip.
He said nobody at the time understood him, or the papakha — a wool hat from his region that he'd wear at weigh-in ceremonies.
"Smash everybody to 29-0. Who this guy world champion? Where he from? Dagestan. Wrestling all his life with bears. This guy crazy.
"In the last biggest event in UFC, I'm going to show best performance and retire undefeated, undisputed lightweight champ. Become one of the greatest lightweights of all time. This is my dream, and I follow this," he said.
UFC commentator and former UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping then said: "The reality is there is only one Khabib Nurmagomedov. And there may never be another one.
"Retired at 29-0, undefeated, undisputed, and its arguable that he never even lost a round in the UFC. For all those reasons and many more, without a shadow of a doubt, Khabib Nurmagomedov should be in the UFC Hall of Fame."
According to the UFC boss Dana White, Khabib was 'pissed off' that night
Nurmagomedov was Octagonside when the promo was played.
He didn't look particularly "pissed off" when the announcement itself was made, and embraced his friends and training partners like manager Ali Abdelaziz, UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman, and UFC lightweight contender Islam Makhachev.
White then walked over to Nurmagomedov, and said congratulations, before Ari Emanuel, the CEO of Endeavor which owns the UFC, did the same.
Watch the promo here:
When asked for comment regarding Nurmagomedov's reaction to the news, Dana White told Insider and reporters: "He looked pissed off tonight."
White said: "He was pissed off tonight. I don't know what happened to Khabib. I kept telling him, 'What pissed you off tonight'?"
There could have been a few potential reasons. Makhachev had just been denied an immediate UFC title shot and will instead have to fight Beneil Dariush.
More recently, Tim Elliot had defeated Tagir Ulanbekov, who Nurmagomedov helps coach. The loss is Nurmagomedov's second as an MMA coach.
On the Elliott and Ulanbekov fight, White said: "I think that might be it, too."
In a separate statement, White said: "Khabib is one of the greatest athletes to ever compete in professional sports.
"No one dominated their opponents that way Khabib did … it will be an honor to induct him into the UFC Hall of Fame this summer."
The 2022 UFC Hall of Fame induction ceremony will take place during International Fight Week in Las Vegas in July.