10 MMA Fights That Created Instant Legends

5. Khabib Nurmagomedov Vs. Conor McGregor - UFC 229

Right now, Khabib Nurmagomedov is the hottest name in the world of Mixed Martial Arts. Simply put, Khabib is a complete and utter force of nature - as reflected by his (often literally) jaw-dropping professional record of 28-0.

Even though he went into his UFC 229 fight against Conor McGregor with a 26-0 record and as the UFC Lightweight Champion after defeating Al Iaquinta, it almost felt as if The Eagle wasn't quite getting the respect he deserved from some quarters. Those same quarters, of course, felt that the real test for Nurmagomedov would be stepping into the Octagon opposite Notorious.

Going into that mega money UFC 229 fight, Conor was at his most Conor. McGregor has long been known as one of the greatest trash talkers in the fight game, yet his pre-UFC 229 comments towards Khabib, his team, his family, his country, and his religion completely crossed the line.

Regardless, when the pair finally locked horns, Nurmagomedov totally bossed McGregor for four rounds before finally making the Irishman tap out. And with that, Khabib had proved himself to any foolish naysayers, and now finds himself rightfully talked about as one of the all-time greats.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.