Michael Bisping believes that Khabib Nurmagomedov has taken himself out of all GOAT conversations. According to Bisping, Khabib retired too early to qualify for being the greatest fighter of all time.
Retiring After UFC 254
Khabib laid down the gloves inside the octagon after UFC 254. After defeating Justin Gaethje, with relative ease, Nurmagomedov retired from the sport and later vacated his UFC lightweight championship.
Many speculated that the retirement would be short-lived and that Khabib would step foot in the octagon once again. However, the retirement took place in October 2020, and “The Eagle” hasn’t even hinted at a return. Contrarily, he’s doubled down on multiple occasions, stating that he enjoys retirement.
Nurmagomedov retired with an official MMA record of 29 wins and no losses, which is extremely rare in mixed martial arts. Khabib has a host of high-caliber and high profile names on his resume. Names like Dustin Poirier, Conor McGregor, Justin Gaethje, and Rafael dos Anjos.
Bisping on Khabib GOAT Talk
However, Bisping believes that Khabib retired too early to cement himself as one of the greatest fighters.
“Yeah, he took himself out of it (the GOAT conversation),” Bisping said of Khabib on True Geordie’s Pain Game podcast.
“And if you look, yeah, he didn’t fight the best until the end of his career. When you compare that with GSP or Jones or Anderson, their run against world-class competition was far longer. But for Khabib, I know it was because of his father passing away, and he made a promise to his mother. So, it’s different circumstances.”
“I think when you look at the resumes, even though he was undefeated, the resumes don’t really stack up. And I say that with tremendous respect to Khabib – Far being from me to downplay his career because I would never dream of doing that.”
Does Michael Bisping have a point when it comes to the career of Khabib Nurmagomedov?
