- In response to claims made by his manager Ali Abdelaziz, Khabib Nurmagomedov has dismissed any possibility of defeating the current middleweight champion Israel Adesanya.
Looking at Khabib Nurmagomedov these days, it seems like he has been enjoying retirement and has no plans of making a UFC return anytime soon. But given his legacy, people in the sport just can’t stop dropping his name in their interviews. Among them was his former manager Ali Abdelaziz.
Abdelaziz previously claimed that the former UFC lightweight champion is in an “unstoppable” state at the moment that he could stop anybody, including middleweight king Israel Adesanya. However, Nurmagomedov doesn’t feel the same way.
Not for Khabib
After being inducted in the UFC Hall of Fame, Nurmagomedov was quizzed for comments about Abdelaziz’s statement. Unsurprisingly, “The Eagle” went straightforward with it and said that he doesn’t see that fight coming and the entire thing was just based on what people think.
“No, because I’m not going to fight in 185, I’m not going to fight with him [Adesanya],” Nurmagomedov told Main event. “It’s like… Right now this is his time you know. [Don’t] try to take his like greatness… But going to fight and talk about ‘Oh I can smash him.’ I didn’t say this, people talk about this, I don’t agree with this.”
What a career
Some think it might have been a bit too early but the Russian MMA legend still decided to hang the gloves after three successful defenses as the king of 155-pound division.
Like the most of us, Nurmagomedov too, is certain that his submission victory over Conor McGregor at UFC 229 in 2018 was the biggest win of his career.
The UFC has officially given Nurmagomedov his rightful spot in the Hall of Fame. As for a potential return, we might hear his name every now and then, but only “The Eagle” knows what his next move would be.
Since his last fight in October 2020, Khabib Nurmagomedov defeated Justin Gaethje through submission in the second round. After announcing his retirement following the fight, the Russian has shown no interest in returning to professional MMA.
