Khabib Nurmagomedov is the latest inductee into the UFC Hall of Fame. Khabib Nurmagomedov has retired from his professional MMA career undefeated (29-0). He’s now very determined to become a noteworthy promoter.
Khabib Nurmagomedov is one of the most prominent Russian athletes in the world. Nurmagomedov, 33, might be retired now but prior to retirement he accumulated the pristine record containing 29 wins and no losses. Nurmagomedov’s trademark in the UFC octagon became a papakha.
Papaha, is a high fur hat, usually made of karakul sheep skin. It’s typical for the Caucasian region. Papakhi are donned by the Circassians, Chechens, Dagestanis, and other Caucasian tribes. This was Nurmagomedov’s subtle nod to his Dagestani origins.
Khabib Nurmagomedov retired upon his mother’s request after the passing of his father. For Nurmagomedov, his father was the biggest influence in his career because he served as his father, coach, cornerman and even promoter early on.
After his father passed away, Khabib Nurmagomedov competed one last time. He defeated Justin Gaethje in October 2020, and then he announced his retirement from mixed martial arts live on PPV.
Khabib said that he typically made sure his mother didn’t watch his bouts. However, she sometimes caught a snippet of at them and even saw his most last one its entirety. The Eagle said she didn’t talk to him about his retirement speech, but she did see it:
“She watched the last fight, but we never discussed it. It may seem strange. There were moments that we discussed from other fights but not the last fight.”
The interviewer interjected that Khabib Nurmagomedov and his mother definitely didn’t need to talk about his moving retirement statement since everyone knew what it was all about. In response, Nurmagomedov said:
“Perhaps. Maybe it was just such an emotional moment that we didn’t discuss it. I don’t even know. She didn’t ask. I didn’t tell her.”
Nurmagomedov went on to call his retirement concrete – but still left the door for a return slightly ajar – perhaps if his mother were to pass.
“I understand the sentiment. I retired at my peak as a champion.”
“Before me, many guys have done this trick where they’d ‘retire’ and raise their price tag. Then he’d get paid and come back. I understand those people as well. Overall, I’m very easy-going about that.”
“You have to take in account why I left,” he said. “I had personal reasons for doing so having to do with my family, my father. Of course I could continue. People forget that. They think I left to negotiate a better contract, to negotiate more for my return. That’s not what happened. It was a concrete decision. I see no way how it can change. At least not now.”