His father Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov, who was also his lifelong coach and mentor, passed away earlier this year due to COVID-19 related complications. Khabib Nurmagomedov said in the post-fight interview that he does not want to continue without his father and that he has promised his mother this fight was his last outing in the Octagon.
In his first interview since announcing retirement, ‘The Eagle’ spoke with RT Sport about his retirement, future plans, and more.
Khabib Nurmagomedov addresses his decision to quit
Many people are questioning whether it was the right call to retire at the peak of his career. But Khabib Nurmagomedov stands by his decision of hanging up the fighting gloves.
Khabib said that he might be forced to re-evaluate the decision in one, two, or five years down the line. But there is really nothing left for him to do inside the Octagon, and he knows that.
Khabib Nurmagomedov on his future plans
Now that he has retired, Khabib Nurmagomedov plans to focus more on his training facility in Dagestan named after his father.
Islam Makhachev, who trains with Khabib, had a match with Rafael dos Anjos at UFC 254, which got postponed to Fight Night 183 on November 14 as the latter was tested COVID-positive.
Khabib Nurmagomedov added that they will try to book another fight for Makhachev before Ramadan so that he can become a title contender. He predicted that Makhachev will be there with his UFC belt in September or October next year.
He also shared that his retirement call came as a surprise to his mother, and talked about the one thing in the UFC 254 fight that did not go according to how they planned.
Watch the interview below:
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