It has been three years since Khabib Nurmagomedov retired from the UFC in October 2020. After a dominant win over Justin Gaethje at UFC 254, ‘The Eagle’ shocked the world by stepping away from the sport. He stated that his mother did not want him to continue competing after having lost his father. However, retiring at the height of your career is not easy irrespective of the sport. And in a recent interview on the UFC‘s YouTube channel, ‘The Eagle’ revealed the hardest part of staying retired.
Since stepping away from the sport, ‘The Eagle’ was still heavily involved in the sport in a coaching capacity. He had one goal in mind, to fulfil his father’s dream of making Islam Makhachev the next lightweight champion. After that goal was achieved, ‘The Eagle’ completely stepped away from the sport and has since been spending more time with his family. He has been pursuing other interests outside of fighting.
In the recent interview, ‘The Eagle’ shared his thoughts on his decision to retire. He also went on to share how turning down huge sums of money was the hardest part of being retired. While answering to Daniel Cormier’s question, he said,
“When you best fighter in the world. When you strong enough, when you have money, when you famous, it is very hard to say not to all these things, it’s very hard. It is not easy. It is not easy just say no to $20, $30, $40 million dollars. But for myself it is not everything. This is not most important. It was not an easy decision, but if I decide, just decide, it’s finished. I leave this alone, I am happy, I never regret with my decision. Never.” (14:38 to 15:12)
Khabib Nurmagomedov got inducted into the UFC’s Ultimate 30 All-Time roster as the company completed 30 years. And the interview was done in order to celebrate the Dagestani fighter’s legacy. With all that he has achieved in the sport it was not surprising to see him join the list of elite fighters.
Khabib Nurmagomedov joins a list of privileged athletes
MMA is an unforgiving sport where the highs are extremely high and the lows are extremely low. For most fans, they often see their best fighters decline rapidly due to age before they are ultimately forced to retire. Anderson Silva is one such example.
Very few have been able to step away from the sport of MMA at the height of their career with their legacy intact. Georges St-Pierre and Khabib Nurmagomedov are two prominent examples that come to mind. While fans might be unhappy with ‘The Eagle’s’ decision to retire, their last memory of him will always be that of him completely dominating an elite lightweight.
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It will not be one of him getting knocked out or dominated by an up and coming fighter as is the case with most UFC legends. Although Nurmagomedov sacrificed a lot of money, his legacy is still intact, which for him is worth more than any amount of money.
