Khabib Nurmagomedov Officially Retires

UFC President Dana White was persistent in his attempts to persuade Nurmagomedov into coming back and going for the nice-and-tidy 30-0 since that October night. Nurmagomedov, however, would remain steadfast in his decision and word to his mother. 

After several dinner meetings between the two, White put the questions to rest on the night of March 18, confirming Nurmagomedov's retirement as official.

"It was incredible to watch you work @TeamKhabib," White wrote on Twitter. "Thank you for EVERYTHING and enjoy whatever is next my friend."

In an Instagram post, Nurmagomedov echoed White's thankfulness for their mutual journey together.

"@danawhite thank you so much brother and the entire @ufc team for the opportunity to prove myself, you guys have changed many live forever because of this sport," Nurmagomedov wrote."Dana - I’ll never forget your attitude towards me, my father did not forget and my sons will remember you. Today there was a real conversation between real men."

Nurmagomedov hasn't been far from the action, though, transitioning right into his father's role as coach for several of his friends and teammates. Already, he has cornered his cousin Umar Nurmagomedov and Islam Makhachev to important victories and has been a strong help for his other teammates at American Kickboxing Academy as well.

The tough part is in his resume. The aforementioned, other than McGregor, hold a great quantity and storied names on their group of victims. The narratives were perhaps stronger, the eyes watching perhaps opened bigger. But it has to be said that Nurmagomedov was so intimidating, making such tackling dummies out of his opponents, that Dana White just could not find a fight for him. Due to this, as well as some injuries, Nurmagomedov didn’t compete from April 2014 to April 2016.

That’s when the run to the mountaintop kicked into gear. A loud return in the form of a second-round TKO over Darrell Horcher sparked title-fight chatter with Eddie Alvarez on top. When the promotion opted for McGregor’s bid to become the first double-champ, Nurmagomedov responded with a terrifyingly powerful submission win over Michael Johnson in which Nurmagomedov could be heard telling Johnson to give up because he knew Nurmagomedov was worthy of a title shot. He earned that shot next, and in a chaotic fight week at UFC 223, he ultimately secured the belt by defeating Al Iaquinta.

So few question marks surround Nurmagomedov’s quality. Yes, there were some issues managing weight cuts, but by the time he earned the belt, he got that part down, and there wasn’t really another true stumbling block in his career. The cursed matchup with Tony Ferguson fell through for increasingly ridiculous reasons, and that might be the only true “what if” lost in this retirement, but in terms of the highest ceiling - the apex of one’s dominance - Nurmagomedov is near, if not at, the mountaintop.

He ascended to superstardom without much of the pomp and circumstance that surrounds many historically popular prizefighters. Though he had several finishes, Nurmagomedov’s style wasn’t necessarily flashy. It didn’t produce viral knockouts. It just produced the look of helplessness in his opponents. Nurmagomedov didn’t really talk trash, either. He would say he would “smash” people, but frankly, it was an accurate description of his fights. Other than a certain incident at UFC 229 that capped an ugly feud, Nurmagomedov exuded respect for his foes and the sport, most notably at UFC 242 when, after swapping shirts with Poirier in a show of respect, he announced he would auction the shirt and donate the money to Poirier’s Good Fight Foundation. In that same interview, Nurmagomedov relished honoring his father, who proudly stood next to him in the Octagon.

Perhaps what adds a certain gravity to this retirement is that he is still in his prime. St-Pierre dubbed his performance against Gaethje as “masterful.” Nurmagomedov looked sharp on his feet, pressuring a man known for high-paced wars before easily sweeping into a triangle choke to close the show. He and his father talked of leaving the sport at 30-0, so this only comes one fight early, and frankly, not many fights of interest were left for him. He mentioned the rumored fight between Poirier and McGregor, saying he wasn’t interested since he “choked them out, both of them.” Fighting St-Pierre even piqued the Canadian’s interest, but that was more to stamp a legacy, and fighting a 39-year-old “Rush” probably wasn’t the fight he truly wanted; that would require a time-machine.

UFC Fighters React To Khabib's Retirement

So, Nurmagomedov goes off into the world of the retired, and given his track record, we might not hear a lot from him after this. He wasn’t one to make many media appearances outside of promoting fights, at least outside of Russia. We might see him in the corner for his teammates, but using that as a chance to make his voice heard isn’t really his style. This feels like a true goodbye to a man who made a crater-sized mark in the sport.

Where Nurmagomedov ranks among the greats is up for endless debate among fans, pundits and the like, but his greatness is as undeniable as one of his takedowns. Seeing Nurmagomedov weep on the mat is an image few who saw it will forget, a capstone to a definitively dominant career. “The Eagle” soared high - maybe higher than anyone in the history of the sport for as brief as it was – and now he goes off into the sunset, belt firmly still in hand.