UFC fighter Khabib Nurmagomedov has won the 2020 edition of the BBC Sports Personality’s World Sport Star of the Year.
The 32-year-old Russian fighter waded off competition from Time Magazine’s 2020 Athlete of the Year, LeBron James to win the award.
Khabib who came first in the online public vote, also beat off competition from Swedish pole vaulter Armand Duplantis, American golfer Dustin Johnson, French footballer Wendie Renard, and Irish boxer Katie Taylor.
The Eagle extended his perfect professional record to 29 wins with an emotional victory over interim champion Justin Gaethje in October.
“The UFC lightweight champion fought just months after the death of his father, coach and mentor Abdulmanap.
Considered by some to be the greatest mixed martial arts fighter of all time, he retired straight after his victory.
Nurmagomedov’s 29-0 record in MMA included 13 straight victories under the UFC banner.
He successfully defended his lightweight title on three occasions, and was seen as one of the most dominant athletes in MMA history,” the BBC wrote.
Khabib succeeds marathon runner Eliud Kipchoge, who won the London Marathon for a fourth time and became the first person to run a marathon in under two hours in October 2019.
