When Khabib Nurmagomedov announced that he would be retiring from MMA at UFC 254 in 2020, he did what very few athletes are able to do. “The Eagle” left the sport that he had dedicated his life to whilst being at the very top of the game.
With an undefeated record of 29-0 and three title defenses under his belt, Nurmagomedov stuck to the promise that he had made his mother following the tragic loss of his father and coach, Abdulmanap. Who knows how much longer the champion could’ve stayed at the top but his final performance inside the Octagon against Justin Gaethje proved that he was still the best lightweight in the world by some distance.
Since then, he has used his unbreakable mentality and elite experience to benefit the fighters around him by acting as a coach. His team recently had success at the 2024 PFL World Championships in Riyadh where Gadzhi Rabadanov brought even more lightweight gold to their trophy cabinet by stopping Brent Primus.
In an interview with Bloody Elbow, Rabadanov spoke about the former UFC lightweight king and how he continues to be incredibly dedicated even after hanging up the gloves for good.
“He trains like a professional fighter still, ever single day, he’s never going to stop. If he could he’d train while he’s flying or in the Arabian dessert.”
Though he is still constantly training alongside his teammates, Nurmagomedov has put on a fair bit of size since stepping away which isn’t necessarily surprising given that lightweight was a difficult weight cut for him at several points in his career. With that in mind, though he doesn’t think Khabib will ever come back, Rabadanov believes that he could be a champion again in whatever weight class he ends up in.
He believes that 185-pounds would probably be a better fit for “The Eagle” at this point in time but that doesn’t mean that Dricus Du Plessis would be able to stop from him getting his hands on UFC gold again if that’s what he really wanted.
“He’s not lightweight any more. I think maybe middleweight is good. 100 per cent [he could beat Dricus Du Plessis]. Khabib is different level.”