Khabib Nurmagomedov to Be 1st Person Inducted into UFC Hall of Fame Class of 2022

Former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov is going into the promotion's Hall of Fame. 

During the UFC 272 broadcast on Saturday night, it was announced Nurmagomedov will be the first inductee into the UFC Hall of Fame Class of 2022. 

Nurmagomedov put together one of the greatest mixed martial arts careers in history. The Eagle retired in 2021 with an undefeated 29-0 record, with 19 of his wins coming by knockout or submission. 

After starting his career with 16 consecutive wins, Nurmagomedov signed with UFC in 2011. He made his debut for the promotion at UFC on FX 1 with a third-round submission victory over Kamal Shalorus.

It wasn't until 2018 that Nurmagomedov captured the lightweight title with a unanimous decision victory over Al Iaquinta. The championship had been vacated by Conor McGregor (inactivity) and interim champ Tony Ferguson (injuries).

Nurmagomedov's title reign is officially recognized as 1,077 days before he vacated the crown in March 2021 upon retiring from the sport. 

He was also involved in the biggest event in UFC history against McGregor at UFC 229 in October 2018. It generated nearly 2.4 million pay-per-view buys, shattering the previous high-water mark of 1.5 million for McGregor's fight with Nate Diaz in August 2016. 

Nurmagomedov beat McGregor by submission in the main event of that show. He fought two more times after that, defeating Dustin Poirier (UFC 242) and Justin Gaethje (UFC 254) before hanging up his gloves. 

UFC has not yet announced an official date for the Hall of Fame ceremony.