Khabib Nurmagomedov insists there’s no chance he will ever return to fighting.
Nurmagomedov, the former undefeated UFC lightweight champion and UFC Hall of Famer, continuously gets asked if he’d contemplate coming out of retirement, but he heavily dismissed that possibility once again.
Nurmagomedov retired in October 2020 after submitting Justin Gaethje to retain his lightweight title. While many wonder what could have been if “The Eagle” continued fighting, Nurmagomedov said there’s no need. He plans on having his legacy live through his proteges, which has already seen Islam Makhachev claim the UFC lightweight title and defend it three times.
“If you guys need champions, I’m helping my brothers to become champions,” Nurmagomedov said in an interview with iNews. “We have Islam as a champion, we have Umar (Nurmagomedov) as next contender, we have Usman (Nurmagomedov) as champion. We have a lot of champions. You guys are never going to miss me because, in our team and our gym, we create champions. You guys are always going to have champions, don’t worry.”
In an interview with Ushatayka, Nurmagomedov revealed that Makhachev is looking at January for his next title defense. He didn’t reveal the opponent, but it is expected to be a rematch against Arman Tsarukyan, whom he defeated by decision in April 2019.
“Islam is now not only a champion, he is the pound-for-pound best fighter in the world,” Nurmagomedov said. “UFC offered us a fight already, in January. We accepted it.”
