Rustam Khabilov is one of the most prominent representatives of Russia in the world of mixed martial arts. Since 2012, he has been playing in the best league on the planet - UFC. The nickname of the Dagestan fighter is the Tiger. He fully justifies it by going into the octagon (octagon). Fights of Rustam Khabilov always turn out to be bright and spectacular. During his career, he spent 23 fights. His professional record is 20 wins and 3 losses.
Rustam Khabilov: biography
The future UFC fighter was born in 1986, on November 4 in the village of Goksuv-Otar, which is located in Dagestan. Nationality is Kumyk. He spent a lot of time on the street, like all the boys. Many parents gave their children to the freestyle wrestling section, but there was no sports hall in Rustam's native village. He and his friends ran to the banks of the river, where he trained wrestling skills in the sand. Since childhood, Rustam Khabilov wanted to become a fighter and practiced strikes on a makeshift pear at home.
At the age of 13, he took part in his first competition - the Dagestan Wushu Sanda Championship. At that championship, Rustam reached the semifinals, but his health condition did not allow him to break through further. However, the spirit of the Tiger has already begun to take shape, since, having caught a cold, he managed to win the battle for 3rd place.
During his student days, Rustam became even more diligent in sports and trained with Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov, a famous sambo trainer. His son, Khabib Nurmagomedov, who is the best Russian fighter at the moment, is on friendly terms with Rustam.
Sports career
The debut of Khabilov in mixed martial arts happened in 2007. Then he met with the Azerbaijani athlete Bagautdin Abasov and was able to win. Then, until 2011, Rustam Khabilov spent a series of 11 consecutive wins, which interested the leading leagues in the world. In 2011, the Tiger suffered its first defeat, losing to Ruslan Khaskhanov. In the same year, Rustam went to the USA to the famous trainer Greg Jackson, training with which was not in vain.
In 2012, Khabilov became a fighter of the strongest league in the world and won in the first battle. The third fight under the auspices of the UFC was very important for him, then the Tiger met with one of the current contenders for the title Jorge Masvidal. Rustam Khabilov was unstoppable that evening, he showed everything he was capable of, and confidently defeated the American. Then followed the first defeat in the UFC from Benson Henderson. Khabilov lost the next fight by a split decision. But then he managed to win four victories in a row, which allowed Rustam to rise to 11th place in the rating of lightweights.
Personal life
The life of a fighter is constant training. But every man dreams of a strong family and heir. All this was embodied in the life of Khabilov in 2016. He married a beautiful girl, and after a while the first-born was born.
In the octagon, Rustam Khabilov seems a formidable and tough fighter, but in life he is modest and kind. His wife and child are in their homeland, in Dagestan, and he is in the USA, where he conducts training and fights. Rustam spends a lot of time in the training room. He is one of those people who come there first and leave last. It was his perseverance and hard work that helped the Dagestan "tiger" to become an excellent fighter, which the audience really love.