As in any sport, an unbeaten run leads to more questions than it answers and Khabib Nurmagomedov's record is no different.
The Dagestani brings a record of 26-0 to the octagon when he squares off with Conor McGregor at UFC 229, having seen off every challenger he has faced in MMA's premier promotion.
Competitive challengers such as Pat Healy, Rafael Dos Anjos, Michael Johnson and Edson Barboza have been defeated as the 'The Eagle' used his sambo wrestling to get his opponents to the ground and neutralised their strengths to grind out lop-sided victories.
However, he struggled in the first round for the first two minutes when he decided to stand and trade with the Johnson. The American is a good striker but not compared to the elite in the division.
He clipped the Russian on numerous occasions before Nurmagomedov took the fight to the ground and dominated from there on.
This vulnerability on the feet is where McGregor could take advantage and hand him his first loss.
Nurmagomedov hasn't faced the elite strikers in the division yet. The cursed bout with Tony Ferguson has fallen apart on numerous occasions and he hasn't been paired with Dustin Poirier or Anthony Pettis either. McGregor's strength is his stand-up game and every fight starts on the feet.
Look back to Demian Maia's early UFC career. The decorated jiu-jitsu World Champion submitted his first five opponents in the octagon, including Chael Sonnen in one round, and his ascent to the pinnacle of the division was almost guaranteed - if Maia got his hands on you, a submission was soon to follow.
The Brazilian's aura of invincibility was undone in twenty seconds when he ran head-first into a straight right hand from Nate Marquardt at UFC 102.
McGregor called Nurmagomedov's chin 'glass' at the pre-fight press conference so there's every chance he'll look to back up his claim.
Listen back the MMA edition of Off The Brawl where we spoke with Duke Roufus, Pat Healy and Paul Felder ahead of UFC 229 here:
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