“Goal Was Not Hurting People”: Khabib Nurmagomedov Makes Surprising Confession About His Career

UFC’s undefeated titan, Khabib Nurmagomedov claims he never wants to ‘hurt’ people. At least, that was not the goal he had in mind when he decided to compete in the UFC. All he had in mind was the determination to become a world champion and build a lasting legacy in the sport of MMA.

As it so happens, hurting people is just one of the perks that comes with the sport. However, ‘The Eagle’ claims it was not even on his agenda and sometimes he would go easy on his opponents.

And that’s an exaggeration. In his last fight in the UFC, Khabib took on Justin Gaethje in what many believed would have been his toughest battle yet. And yet, Khabib, instead of finishing Gaethje with an easier arm bar, went for a triangle choke and put him to sleep. Why?

Because he didn’t want to hurt Gaethje in front of his parents! That’s not even a backstage story, it happened for millions to see. It’s what pop culture refers to as a cannon event!

And, according to Khabib, that is exactly what he did in his fight against Michael Johnson in 2016 as well1

“I understand he’s not on my level and I give him advice…..When I take his arm, I really can break his arm and I don’t do this…My goal in this sport was not hurting people. My goal was like to become world champion without [hurting people]”

 

‘The Eagle’ got him in a Kimura and did not want to break his arm, so he found another way to finish the fight.

This kind of violence against a fighter he knows is not on his level does not sit right with the former champion.

But given how dominant he was during his time, these claims can be a bit of a hard sell. Everybody and their mother knows for sure he wanted to ‘bite Conor McGregor’s liver’ at UFC 229.

Regardless, it’s all in the past now. And that good too, as ‘The Eagle’ is currently busy building an MMA empire that will outlive at least the last the next couple of generations.

Khabib is busy creating champions

The most common question Khabib Nurmagomedov gets asked is if he will return to the octagon. Fans know he left in his prime to keep a promise he had made to his mother.

Khabib still trains everyday, or that’s what at least UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev claims. So fans keep wondering if there’s an outside chance that the Dagestani fighter gets the fighting bug again. But Khabib has remained adamant.

During a recent public event, the topic of his return was brought up again and ‘The Eagle‘ gave fans a very simple answer,

“I’m helping my brothers to become champions…You guys never gonna miss me because in our team we create champions. You guys gonna always have champion, don’t worry about this.”

So, Khabib now trains the likes of Islam Makhachev, Umar and Usman Nurmagomedov to be the next generation of champions from his gym. Islam and Usman both have lightweight titles while Umar is on the way to his first bantamweight title shot.