News surfaced that UFC veteran Khabib Nurmagomedov will retire as an MMA coach. Not just that, the former UFC lightweight champion also indicated that he will cut ties completely from MMA and focus on his family.
‘The Eagle’ took to his Instagram account to solidify his retirement to fans.
Coach and founder of the American Kickboxing Academy Javier Mendez confirmed Khabib’s plan during a talk with Yahoo Sports.
“He just doesn’t want to miss being a father. He talked to me about three weeks ago and told me of his plan and said he planned to talk to the team and inform them of his decision. He’s doing this for the right reasons. He’s a family man and he simply wants to spend more time with his family.” Mendez said.
There is also a statement out there confirming that Khabib won’t be cornering lightweight champion Islam Makhachev, at UFC 284 against P4P king Alexander Volkanovski.
Many are disappointed with his decision, saying that he hasn’t proven enough to be a great coach, much like his MMA career that ended too early. However, some support his decision and believe it’s for the best. One of them being Henry Cejudo.
Cejudo, being a professional athlete and a family man, understands very much that being an athlete or coach needs a great commitment and it.
“I actually respect Khabib more now because I get it, and I know the amount of travel and how he gets tugged and pulled, and I don’t think people really understand the level of where he’s at. Watching my daughter grow and not having the ability to see her walk or start talking, you just know where your time goes.” Cejudo said on his channel.
“I’m just super happy for Khabib to really recognize and realize that because at the end of the day, he’s accomplished more than what the average Joe would ever do… From the bottom of my heart, Khabib, I understand you, I believe you, and congratulations on your new endeavors because family is everything.”