Undefeated UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov officially retired in the Octagon, following a dominant win over Justin Gaethje at UFC 254 in October. As the youngest son, Nurmagomedov lived in his parent’s home, with the aim of supporting them in their late age. Following the death of his father Abdulmanap in July due to complications from COVID-19, The Eagle became head of household.
Thus there was great pressure on him not to take this fight all, as it entailed leaving home for an extended period to prepare for the bout in the Fight Island bubble in Abu Dhabi.
It was my last fight, he said. No way I’m going to come here without my father. After what happened with my father, when UFC called me about Justin, I talked with my mother three days. She didn’t want me to go fight without my father. I promised her this is going to be my last fight.
However, Khabib and his father long planned for the fighter to retire at 30-0. And the champ has remained in the USADA testing pool. So the doors remain open for one more. Nurmagomedov met on Friday with UFC president Dana White about whether he will fight again, and the answer is sorta maybe.
He’s accomplished everything he set out to accomplish, White said he was told by Nurmagomedov. He thought that [Charles] Oliveira looked really good in his fight against Tony Ferguson. Next Saturday, we have the McGregor-Poirier fight and Chandler and Hooker on there.
His words to me were, ‘I’m gonna watch this fight.’ He said, ‘I would never tie up the division, hold the belt, keep the belt away from anybody else. These guys do something spectacular, show me something spectacular, and make me want to come back and fight.’ So I have a feeling that if somebody delivers, it could be on the co-main event or the main event and like I said he thought Oliveira looked good. Two fights coming up, if these guys can do something special, Khabib will fight them.
He’s the best in the world right now. His best performance was against Gaethje with all that stuff going on. He just needed time to clear his head and if these guys do what I think they’re gonna do next weekend, it sounds like he might be interested in fighting one of them.
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h/t Alexander K. Lee for MMA Fighting
