Khabib Nurmagomedov Still Plans On Coaching
Khabib Nurmagomedov still likes to coach despite putting his fighting days behind him.
The Eagle retired from MMA with an undefeated record of 29-0. He secured big wins against Conor McGregor, Justin Gaethje and Dustin Poirier. Since he retired, he set up his Eagle Fighting Championship. He has also coached but revealed that he was not doing that in January last year. That has left questions about whether he has left MMA for good. But Khabib reassured fans that he still has a part to play in the sport.
Khabib’s Future
“It’s not like I’m retired from coaching. Like sometimes I go to the gym and share my knowledge and my experience with my brothers. It’s not about retiring [from coaching]. But with MMA, going to cornering in fight week, with this kind of stuff, I’m done. But I still share my knowledge and experience with my brothers, and this is one of the most important things in my life right now.”
“I still have things to share with them. Grappling, wrestling, some mental things. I still coach my brothers. When I was fighting, you go to the cage and you can control yourself and fight with your opponent, you can do something. But when you’re cornering, it’s very difficult you can just talk you know? You can do nothing… I like fighting more than talking,” Khabib said
Those comments are understandable since Khabib did state that he had turned down the chance to headline at UFC 300. He confirmed that his former manager, Ali Abdelaziz, had been contacted about the possibility of his ex-fighter making a return. But following the passing of his father, Khabib made a promise to his mother that he would not fight again. That promise has stood to this day, with Khabib turning down a McGregor rematch, too.
Khabib On UFC 300
“Honestly, no. I know they connected with Ali [Khabib’s former manager], but I told Ali last maybe one year, I said, ‘It doesn’t matter who calls you, but never call me about a fight.’ We have a deal, directly with me, nobody connects. But I know with Ali, he connected with some people from UFC. But I told (everyone) already once, and I told a lot of times for all these people that try to bring me back: I decided this in October 2020. It was my last fight, and I will never change this,” Nurmagomedov said
Nevertheless, he still keeps himself active in the MMA sphere, often voicing his opinion on the sport. He was very vocal about the UFC 300 card, stating he could not understand some of the match-ups. He singled out Justin Gaethje vs Max Holloway.
Gaethje will defend his BMF title, a belt he acquired after knocking out Dustin Poirier at UFC 292. Holloway has won his last two UFC fights against Arnold Allen and Chan Sung Jung. But Khabib felt Gaethje should have faced Islam Makhachev. Makhachev has won his last 13 fights, beating Alexander Volkanovski in consecutive bouts.
“All respect for Max Holloway, but I don’t know, and I don’t understand why UFC make this fight. Justin Gaethje vs. Max Holloway: It makes no sense – (that’s) my opinion. My opinion, Holloway is supposed to fight with (Ilia) Topuria next, maybe September. Justin Gaethje is supposed to fight with Islam in May or June, and Tsarukyan vs. Oliveira, they fight in April. Whoever wins that (should be fighting) the winner of Islam vs. Justin Gaethje,” Khabib stated
Khabib may not be active, but he still has influence in the sport. Find all the latest boxing news and MMA breaking updates on boxingnews.com.
