A few weeks back, the former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov announced his retirement from all aspects of MMA. The Dagestan-based fighter stopped competing after his last title defense in the UFC in 2020.
Following that, ‘The Eagle’ took the role of a coach and was training his friends and teammates for their respective MMA careers. But now, the former champion has taken a step back from that role as well.
This has opened a window for his naysayers to accuse the ex-UFC fighter of leaving competitions early, be it fighting or coaching. However, former women’s bantamweight champion Julianna Pena has come in Nurmagomedov’s defense.
What did Julianna Pena say about Khabib Nurmagomedov leaving all MMA?
In a recent interview, ‘The Venezuelan Vixen’ shared her honest thoughts on Khabib Nurmagomedov’s decision to retire from MMA coaching. Pena opines that Nurmagomedov is the kind of person who does what he says.
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She highlighted Nurmagomedov’s previous comments about retiring after becoming a champion. The female UFC fighter also pointed out that ‘The Eagle’ promised his father to help Islam Makhachev become the champion, and he achieved that too.
It was reported that Nurmagomedov wants to spend more time with his family. Thus, he took the decision to retire as a coach. Pena stated that she could relate to Nurmagomedov’s situation because she is also a mother. Pena said, ” I think I saw something about 3 weeks with his family for the entire year. He’s got little kids, he wants to teach them wrestling. He wants to watch them grow up.”
However, the female bantamweight UFC fighter also added that Nurmagomedov won’t leave the sport completing and fans might just see him less frequently.
Khabib Nurmagomedov’s cousin Usman Nurmagomedov on his retirement
UFC bantamweight fighter Umar Nurmagomedov, who trains under Khabib, also recently shared his thoughts on his brother’s decision to step away from coaching.
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Umar stated that ‘The Eagle’ was continuously on calls with him in the lead-up to his fight at UFC Vegas 67 last week. He stated that Khabib won’t be traveling all the time to corner his friends. Also, Umar added that he won’t be in their long training camps as well in other countries.
However, per Umar, he will go back to Russia and train with him. Khabib will just take a break from other MMA-related stuff but won’t stop training in his MMA schools in Dagestan, Umar told. After all, Khabib Nurmagomedov is one of the most dedicated and renowned Russian MMA athletes.
What are your thoughts on Umar’s words? Do you guys agree with Julianna Pena?
