Khabib Nurmagomedov stepped away from the sport in October 2020 after a dominant win over Justin Gaethje. ‘The Eagle’ is one of the very few UFC champions who has got to step away from the sport on his own terms while being at the height of his powers. While the fight against Gaethje played out as most expected, behind the scenes, there was a lot going on against Nurmagomedov. Other than the passing of his father, there were other issues that ‘The Eagle’ had to deal with, which was recently revealed by coach Javier Mendez on X.
Javier Mendez has been Nurmagomedov’s head coach ever since he came over to America to train for his fight camps. The two have built an extremely strong bond and Nurmagomedov considers Mendez to be a father figure in his life. Mendez recently shared a clip from the training camp for Justin Gaethje.
However, it was the caption that truly revealed the character of ‘The Eagle’ as a fighter. The caption said,
“Back to the @khabib_nurmagomedov last fight Oct 24th 2020 against Justin Gaethje training camp @nas_sc It was the worst camp ever and yet it was the most confident I have ever been for his last fights. Because he said the key words my Toe maybe broken but my mental is not.”
‘The Eagle’ stepped into the octagon against Gaethje with his toes taped up. At that time, no one knew why that was the case. ‘The Eagle’ did not mention it in his post-fight interview either.
However, it was during the post-fight press conference that details about the fracture emerged. Needless to say, there was a lot riding on the fight for Nurmagomedov. He made sure to secure a win despite the circumstances.
Khabib Nurmagomedov to pursue his dream of playing soccer after retirement?
Growing up as a child, like most other children, Nurmagomedov wanted to be a soccer player. He has always maintained that soccer is his first love, and that wrestling comes in second. Even during his training camps, ‘The Eagle’ was often seen playing football with his teammates.
Now that he is no longer an active fighter, Nurmagomedov has been spending time flying all over the world watching soccer games.
After his retirement, soccer teams offered Nurmagomedov a role as a professional. However, he declined those events. Given his love for the sport, it won’t be surprising to see Nurmagomedov get further involved in the sport as a potential part owner of a team.
