Father says Khabib retires in 18 months
“I’ve never voiced this opinion before, didn’t talk about it to anyone. But I’m afraid he’s got left 1.5 years.”
UFC lightweight Khabib Nurmagomedov, 28, is a perfect 25-0 in mixed martial arts. Coaches are characteristically given far more credit in Russia than in the USA, so when Khabib’s coach, speaks, it’s worth listening to. Plus, his long-time coach is also his father, Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov.
The father/coach spoke recently with the Russian language tabloid Life.ru, and said his son would win the lightweight title, defend it numerous times, and then retire at the age of 30.
I don’t want to upset any fans but Khabib is 28 years old and by 30 he has to finish his career, said Abdulmanap, as translated by Egemen Birben for Karim Zidan and BE. I’ve never voiced this opinion before, didn’t talk about it to anyone. But I’m afraid he’s got left 1.5 years.
I want him as a healthy, thinking person. I want him to develop other fighters. In such a big sport, a career between 24-30 years old is enough.
Khabib fights Tony Ferguson for the interim lightweight title at UFC 209 on march 4 in Las Vegas, Nevada. If he wins that, the next fight would be vs. lightweight champion Conor McGregor. If he wins that, according to pops, he then defends the belt lots of times.