Manager: Khabib Nurmagomedov will fight again, vs. Gaethje
“He’s heartbroken. It’s his father, it’s his mentor, it’s his best friend, but at the end of the day, Khabib’s father had a legacy he wanted Khabib to accomplish.”
The undefeated UFC lightweight GOAT Khabib Nurmagomedov has for over a year said he did not intend to fight for very much. When his father Abdulmanap died on July 3 from COVID-19, there was a widespread belief that “The Eagle” might not fight again. However, Nurmagomedov’s manager Ali Abdelazziz spoke recently with TMZ Sports, and said Nurmagomedov’s not done.
Khabib is not retiring, said Abdelaziz. Khabib has some goals, he has some things he wants to accomplish. You will see him before the end of the year. Now him and Dana [are] talking and me talking to the matchmakers and we’ll try to set a date. I’m sure Dana is gonna let everybody know when Khabib is gonna fight.
We have a blockbuster main event, him versus Justin Gaethje, two of the best lightweights in the world today and the recent era. We see what Khabib does to all his opponents. We see what Justin Gaethje did his last four opponents. He dismantled Tony Ferguson. He made him look like an absolute amateur and that’s the best two guys in the world. They’re gonna fight.
Khabib is a different breed … of course, he’s heartbroken. It’s his father, it’s his mentor, it’s his best friend, but at the end of the day, Khabib’s father had a legacy he wanted Khabib to accomplish. Khabib is a living legend and that’s where legend comes from, legends come from adversity, from death, from a lot of things. And that’s what Khabib does. He comes back from back surgery, from ACL surgery, from the death of his father. He’s gonna fight Justin Gaethje and they’re gonna put on a great display of martial arts, and we are the winners. The fans are the winners, the promotion are the winners. It’s gonna be a blockbuster fight card, for sure.
It was believed that Nurmagomedov would defend vs. Gaethje at UFC 253 on September 19 in Las Vegas, Nevada, but the league is giving “The Eagle” all the time he needs to grieve. It appears that UFC 253 may instead be headlined by middleweight champion Israel Adesanya defending vs. Paulo Costa, which would put Khabib’s fight out to UFC 254 on October 10 at the earliest. Thus there is speculation that Gaethje might take another fight, perhaps vs. Conor McGregor. However, Abdelaziz manages Gaethje too, and says nope.
Listen, we dictate this, said Abdelaziz. Conor right now he can be a backup fighter, he can go make weight, and he can maybe make some money, but at the end of the day, that’s the two champions. He’s not even number three. He’s number four or five. Conor can go fight Nate or Masvidal. We’re not interested in fighting him. He needs to get some wins and he needs to fight some good opponents.
All of this means that, for the time being, the UFC lightweight division is on hold, which pales in comparison to the champion’s current personal struggles. But while circumstances like this could have derailed the undefeated champion’s career, Abdelaziz insists that when Khabib comes back, he will only further cement himself as one of the greatest ever.
Khabib is a different breed too, Abdelaziz said. Of course, he’s heartbroken. It’s his father, it’s his mentor, it’s his best friend, but at the end of the day, Khabib’s father had a legacy he wanted Khabib to accomplish. Khabib is a living legend and that’s where legend comes from, legends come from adversity, from death, from a lot of things. And that’s what Khabib does. He comes back from back surgery, from ACL surgery, from the death of his father. He’s gonna fight Justin Gaethje and they’re gonna put on a great display of martial arts, and we are the winners. The fans are the winners, the promotion are the winners. It’s gonna be a blockbuster fight card, for sure.
h/t Jed Meshew for MMA Fighting