Boxing

Dmitry Bivol Addresses If He'd Beat UFC Legend Khabib Nurmagomedov In Street Fight

Boxing icon Dmitry Bivol's response when asked if he'd beat Khabib Nurmagomadov in a street fight speaks volumes.
Grant Young|
Oct 6, 2018; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Khabib Nurmagomedov (red gloves) reacts after his fight against Conor McGregor (blue gloves) during UFC 229 at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images
Oct 6, 2018; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Khabib Nurmagomedov (red gloves) reacts after his fight against Conor McGregor (blue gloves) during UFC 229 at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images | Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images

Dmitry Bivol has asserted himself as one of the world's best active pound-for-pound boxers and has a chance to go down as an all-time great if he continues winning and defending belts for the remainder of his career.

However, as great as Bivol is, boxing is just one strain of combat sports. Dozens of other martial arts are much more ground-dependent and utilize a completely different skillset than what is used in the boxing ring.

Therefore, it's only natural that those who train and fight Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) would have a massive advantage over a boxer if the two were to meet in the ring, a cage, or during a street fight. And there's arguably no greater MMA fighter than Khabib "The Eagle" Nurmagomedov.

Khabib (who, like Bivol, is also Russian) was the longest-reigning UFC lightweight champion in the promotion's history, having held the title from April 2018 to March 2021. He then decided to retire while still holding on to the belt, thus ending his career with a perfect 29-0 record.

During an interview that was posted on the yuka_mma YouTube Channel on March 2, Bivol was asked whether he'd be able to beat Khabib in a street fight.

Bivol laughed before saying (in translated Russian), "To be honest, MMA is closer to a street fight. No point of hiding it."

In other words, Bivol is admitting that he'd almost certainly have no chance against Khabib, whose specialty was grappling.

Much respect to Bivol for being humble enough to say that he'd likely struggle in a hypothetical street fighting scenario against Khabib.

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Grant Young
GRANT YOUNG

Grant Young is a Staff Writer for On SI’s Boxing, New York Mets, Indiana Fever, and Women’s Fastbreak sites. Before joining SI in 2024, he wrote for various boxing and sports verticals such as FanBuzz and NY Fights. Young has a bachelor’s degree in marketing and a master’s degree in creative writing with an emphasis on sports nonfiction from the University of San Francisco, where he played five seasons of Division 1 baseball. He fought Muay Thai professionally in Thailand in 2023, loves a good essay, and is driven crazy trying to handle a pitpull puppy named Aura. Young lives in San Diego and was raised in the San Francisco Bay Area.