The undefeated former UFC champion Khabib Nurmagomedov leaves the MMA industry – this information was confirmed by the athlete himself. On social networks, he reposted a recording that said: “Khabib is leaving the MMA industry to make a living. This applies to anything related to a coaching career and MMA. This is because Khabib desires to spend more time with his family.”
Nurmagomedov himself did not comment on his resignation. But on Friday, he made fans wary by sharing a photo with his crew. He accompanied the photo with words of gratitude and said, “I hope my decision will only benefit.” Obviously, that was about the decision.
And if Khabib really wanted to leave MMA in the past, then he is unlikely to return. The fact that he was sticking to his word was repeatedly persuaded by UFC President Dana White, who tried to persuade Orel to return to the octagon.
However, Nurmagomedov announced his retirement in October 2020 after battling a record 29-0 with American Justin Gaethje, and has since given in to no persuasion.
Having finished acting as a fighter, Khabib still remains in MMA. He started developing his own Eagle FC promotion and also worked with other fighters, notably Islam Makhachev and Usman Nurmagomedov. Mahachev, with Khabib’s support, achieved a great success in his career to become the UFC lightweight champion, and now Islam faces a new test: On February 11, he will fight Alex Volkanovski, the best fighter in the championship’s non-weight class, in Australia.
It’s hard to believe Khabib won’t be on Mahachev’s team. On the other hand, they have worked together enough, and Islam has spent the entire household part of the preparation with Khabib, and in Australia he will no doubt be able to cope on his own.
Pop-MMA fighter, blogger Artem Tarasov, in an interview with socialbites.ca, actually expressed the opinion that Khabib cannot completely quit mixed martial arts because he is such an important figure for Russian MMA. He can be compared with Fedor Emelianenko. Also, Tarasov believes that Nurmagomedov will still not leave Makhachev without support and will be in his corner.
“He did a lot for this sport in Russia, his departure does not mean anything bad. On the contrary, it proves that any athlete with great results can do whatever he wants – be it a politician or anyone. Khabib has dedicated his whole life to MMA and now he has the money to do whatever he wants.
I think the media takes this information too seriously. No, Khabib cannot fully retire from MMA, he is the legacy of MMA today.
Fedor Emelianenko also once tried to leave, but, of course, he did not succeed and is still in it.
Islam Makhachev remained, who was almost like a brother to Khabib. I think he will be with Khabib in the fight. He wasn’t the coach for the fighters who worked with them every day, coming in the morning and saying “start warming up”. On the contrary, he shared his experience, was a sparring partner. In general, it seems to me that Khabib can not get away from MMA, he just decided to take a break and do other serious things. Or maybe he was called somewhere by very serious people, which he could not refuse, and he is really interested in it, ”Tarasov admitted.
You can talk for a long time about the reasons for Khabib’s decision until he explains exactly what prompted him to take such a step. Family is certainly an important factor: it’s no secret how important it is to Nurmagomedov. And it was for his own good that Khabib ended his career in 2020: According to him, after the death of his father and coach Abdulmanap, he promised his mother that he would not fight. The fight with Gaethje was the first and last for Khabib after the death of his father.
Coach Javier Mendes, who worked with Nurmagomedov, confirmed that he had spoken to Khabib. And in this conversation, the athlete admitted that he wants to be with his family more often.
“He doesn’t want to miss his chance to be a father. We spoke about three weeks ago and he told me about his plans. He would talk to the team and let them know of his decision. He’s doing this for the right reasons. He’s a family man and he just wants to spend more time with his family,” Mendes said. Yahoo Sports.
But it cannot be ruled out that the reason is not only the desire to spend time with loved ones. The assumption made by Artem Tarasov was indirectly confirmed by Khabib’s family friend, Ramazan Rabadanov.
“I am not at all surprised by this. This is a natural transition of a person from one level to another. He met with various businessmen.
He realized that he could survive on a new level for himself by comparing his potential in this field to people who make big money or something.
The level of work organization has risen. Now it’s completely in business. Khabib will start his new job. Which? Rabadanov will tell everything himself.” “Championship”.