Henry Cejudo says Khabib Nurmagomedov turned to sambo because he 'couldn't make it' in wrestling

Former two-division UFC champion Henry Cejudo has taken a swipe at Khabib Nurmagomedov's wrestling credentials. Speaking on the Double Coverage Podcast, in a clip that spread widely on social media on Friday night and Saturday, the 2008 Olympic freestyle wrestling gold medallist claimed that Nurmagomedov and other Dagestani fighters turned to combat sambo because they were not good enough to succeed in wrestling.

What Cejudo said

"People who do sambo, they can't wrestle, they can't make it in wrestling, like Khabib and all these dudes," Cejudo said, as quoted by Bloody Elbow. "I love them but I know wrestling is king in Dagestan, if you can't make it in wrestling they go to sambo."

He went on to argue that sambo is a lesser test of athleticism. "There's a handicap and there's a Gi and not everybody is as athletic as they are in wrestling," Cejudo said.

In a longer version of the clip shared on X, Cejudo also said that most MMA champions come from a wrestling background and that the new wave of Russian fighters is "doing sambo", adding: "but it's all wrestling."

Cejudo admits elite wrestlers would be a problem

Cejudo did not claim he would beat everyone on the mat. According to the clip shared by Red Corner MMA, he drew a line between MMA crossover athletes and elite pure wrestlers.

"The elite ones, dude, I don't know if I can hang with them," he said. "For the crossover, I'll take them all. But for the elite guys, those young dudes, you guys pray for me."

Bloody Elbow noted that Cejudo has previously ranked himself above Nurmagomedov in the MMA GOAT debate, and that this is not the first time he has questioned the Russian legend. Nurmagomedov retired from MMA unbeaten at 29-0 and is widely regarded as one of the most dominant grapplers in the sport's history. He had not publicly responded to Cejudo's comments at the time of writing.

Cejudo's own wrestling run

Cejudo, 39, has returned to wrestling since retiring from MMA and now competes in Real American Freestyle (RAF). After losing a decision to former UFC bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili in their first RAF match despite building an 8-0 lead, Cejudo pinned the Georgian in just 36 seconds at RAF 12 in Cleveland on August 22 to win the RAF lightweight crossover title, MMA Junkie and MMA Fighting reported.

Both men moved to 2-1 in RAF after that match, and both have said they are open to a trilogy on the mat. After the win, Cejudo also called out another former UFC champion, Cody Garbrandt, as a possible next challenger for his RAF belt.

Why it matters

The comments touch a nerve in the long-running debate over Dagestani grappling, which Nurmagomedov brought to the UFC spotlight and which fighters such as Islam Makhachev have carried on. Sambo is a Soviet-born grappling art in which athletes wear a jacket, and many of Dagestan's top fighters competed in both freestyle wrestling and combat sambo before moving to MMA.