Daniel Cormier on sparring with Khabib Nurmagomedov: A 155-pounder ‘should not feel strong for me’

Daniel Cormier believes Khabib Nurmagomedov is the most dominant fighter mixed martial arts has ever seen.

Nurmagomedov returns to action on October 24 when he meets Justin Gaethje in a lightweight title unification fight in the UFC 254 headliner.

While Cormier acknowledges Gaethje is a tough matchup for Nurmagomedov, he still believes “The Eagle” is on another level with his wrestling and grappling that will allow him to once again come away with the victory.

In fact, he can also see Nurmagomedov retiring undefeated and sooner rather than later.

“He’s a very, very difficult matchup for Khabib but that being said, I believe Khabib Nurmagomedov is the most dominant fighter MMA has ever seen,” Cormier told Mike Swick in a recent podcast appearance. “Nobody makes it look as easy as Khabib Nurmagomedov, and I do believe he is going to retire undefeated. And I believe he’s going to retire undefeated sooner than later because when you get to 28, 29-0 — no hiccups, man, like he made no mistakes. Won 28 straight fights, 12-0 in the UFC.

“I just think he’s the most dominant fighter the UFC’s ever seen and I don’t think we’re going to see anything like him again whenever he walks away from the sport.”

Such is the level of wrestling and grappling from Nurmagomedov that only those who experience it can truly understand just how high-level it is.

Cormier certainly knows.

In the past, he has claimed the Dagestan native was the strongest person he has ever felt and reiterated how that was the case despite himself being a former heavyweight champion.

“Look at Dustin Poirier, how good he looked against Dan Hooker, and look at what Khabib did to him,” Cormier added. “Dustin went between rounds and said, ‘I can’t get him off me.’ This is Dustin Poirier who is one of the bigger lightweights in the entire world.

“He’s just a beast man. You felt it, I felt it — when I grab a guy that fights at 155 and I go, ‘man, he feels strong,’ it’s crazy. That should not happen. He should not feel strong to me whenever I grab him, but he is.”

One thing is for sure — Gaethje certainly has an uphill battle on his hands, even with him having his own impressive wrestling credentials.