Khabib Nurmagomedov hat: What is the hat Conor McGregor’s UFC 229 opponent wears?
KHABIB NURMAGOMEDOV HAT - KHABIB NURMAGOMEDOV’s walk to the Octagon in one of the most well known in the UFC.
UFC: Khabib says he is going to ‘smash’ Conor McGregor
Nurmagomedov’s Octagon walk isn’t infamous for his entrance music or any crazy acrobatics, which we’ve become accustomed to seeing in recent years.
It’s well known amongst mixed martial arts fans because of a certain piece of attire he wears every time he prepares to enter the cage.
Every time the UFC lightweight champion makes his way to cage, he always dons a frizzy hat, which many have mistaken for a wig.
MMA fans across the globe often ask themselves the same question every time they see ‘The Eagle’ wearing the ‘wig’: What is the name of the item sat atop of his head?
The garment Nurmagomedov wears isn’t a wig at all, it’s a papakha, a piece of clothing which is native to the 30-year-old’s homeland of Dagestan.
The papakha, pronounced ‘puh-pah-hah’, is an item of headwear which was often worn Avarian shepherds.
Nurmagomedov will no doubt wear his papakha on his way to the Octagon in the early hours of Sunday morning for his showdown with Conor McGregor, which serves as the event for UFC 229.
The undefeated Nurmagomedov has vowed to punish McGregor - his successor at the summit of the lightweight division - for his actions at the UFC 223 media day and solidify his position as the best 155lbs fighter on the planet.
“I’m going to make him tired and make him look bad, this is my plan,” the undefeated Nurmagomedov told TMZ. “He cannot fight all 25 minutes, maybe he thinks he can knock me out, we will see.”
Nurmagomedov informed McGregor of his plan to hand him his fourth career defeat at a fiery press conference in New York last month, saying: "I think I'm going to make him tired and afterward play with him. Because when he's tired he always gives up. He moved to boxing and he tapped there."
After McGregor interrupted him for the umpteenth time, Nurmagomedov added: "You tapped three times. Three times he tapped.
"You tapped four times, you tapped like chicken four times."
UFC 229 Fight Card
Khabib Nurmagomedov vs Conor McGregor (lightweight title fight)
Tony Ferguson vs Anthony Pettis (lightweight bout)
Ovince Saint Preux vs Dominick Reyes (light-heavyweight bout)
Derrick Lewis vs Alexander Volkov (heavyweight bout)
Michelle Waterson vs Felice Herring (women’s strawweight bout)
Prelims
Sean O’Malley vs Jose Alberto Quinonez (men’s bantamweight bout)
Sergio Pettis vs Jussier Formica (men’s flyweight bout)
Scott Holtzman vs Alan Patrick (lightweight bout)
Ryan LaFlare vs Tony Martin (welterweight bout)
Fight Pass Prelims
Lina Lansberg vs Yana Kunitskaya (women’s bantamweight bout)
Gray Maynard vs Nik Lentz (lightweight bout)
Aspen Ladd vs Tonya Evinger (women's bantamweight bout)
UFC 229 odds
Khabib Nurmagomedov win: 4/7
Conor McGregor to win: 11/8
Draw: 61/1
McGregor via KO or TKO: 3/1
McGregor via decision: 15/1
McGregor via submission: 34/1
Khabib via KO or TKO: 5/1
Khabib via submission: 4/1
Khabib via decision: 5/1