Why Khabib Nurmagomedov Retired from the UFC

by Zain Ahmed

Khabib Abdulmanapovich Nurmagomedov, the 32-year-old who just defended his lightweight title while keeping a perfect 29-0 record, announced his retirement on Oct.24. The news shocked Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) fans around the world. 

At 19-years-old, Nurmagomedov started his professional career in 2008, when he fought for his first time at the professional level. But his wrestling dreams started much earlier than that, as he started at an early age under the influence of his father. Since his first game, he never lost a fight and will retire undefeated throughout his 12-year professional career. 

The reason behind his retirement was the death of his father and coach, Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov, in July due to COVID-19, CNN reported. After his father passed away, Nurmagomedov and his mother decided that this last fight against Justin Gaethje would be his last just three days before he accepted it. 

Indeed they fought and Nurmagomedov ended his career with a victory in the second round against Gaethje, defending his lightweight title,“Today, this was my last fight. Ain’t no way I’m going to come here without my father,” Nurmagomedov told UFC in an interview, shortly after the victory. 

Shortly after the fight, Nurmagomedov also posted a picture of him and his father on Instagram, and captioned, “When ALLAH with you, nobody can broke you, nobody.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/CGvnnF9Mlla/?igshid=46aygcxaqt29

This life-changing decision by Nurmagomedov was in honor of his parents, but this was not the first time he has given respect towards them, GIVEMESPORT reported. He has been quoted many times in regard to respecting parents, and he even wanted to make sure he didn’t hurt Justin Gaethje in front of his parents despite this being the final fight of his career according to CBS News. 

Even though this decision shocked everyone around the world since Nurmagomedov was still in his prime, this did teach many about respecting their parents and the importance they have in the lives of many successful individuals.