Khabib Nurmagomedov recalls questioning the UFC after they asked him to make one change once he signed

During his interview at the World Sports Summit, he revealed that the UFC asked him to come up with a nickname when he signed to the promotion in 2012.

Nurmagomedov recalled that he was puzzled by this before being told that it’s because his name is difficult to pronounce.

“I’m like, ‘What? I have my name, why do I need a nickname?’ Even I ask my manager, ‘What is this nickname? What do you mean?'”

His success inside the Octagon means that his name is now one of the most well-known in all of combat sports, even if he did listen to their request by adopting the symbol of Dagestan.

‘I take Eagle but after six years, everybody knows my name,” Nurmagomedov added. “This is how we do.”

Khabib Nurmagomedov believes there needs to be a better balance in MMA

Khabib Nurmagomedov was critical of MMA promotions putting entertainment first despite admitting that he understands where they’re coming from.

It makes sense that having a nickname may make it easier for people to identify him if they weren’t used to seeing names that are similar to his when he first arrived in the UFC.

His name is now synonymous with the UFC, but this may not have been the case if they’d not given him this opportunity because he wasn’t entertaining enough.

“In one way, I understand but at the end of the day, this is sport,” Nurmagomedov said at the World Sports Summit. “Best versus best. Not like best dancer or who has the best haircut or fighter who has the best followers. It has to be fair. Okay, like 50:50. If you guys want business too, okay, let’s go 50:50 but don’t go 100:0, it’s not fair.”