In a revealing moment during a recent public appearance in Chicago, UFC legend Khabib Nurmagomedov opened up about the immense pressure he faced following his father’s death in 2020.
The undefeated champion disclosed that the UFC gave him just one month to make a life-altering decision about his combat career during one of the most difficult periods of his life.
Speaking candidly before a packed audience in a recent interview, Khabib described the whirlwind of emotions and circumstances that surrounded his father Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov’s passing during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Everything happened so fast,” he recalled. “I don’t even have time to think what I have to do. They make interim title just 25 days after father passed away, and they told me we’re going to give you one month off. After one month, come back to us what you’re going to do.”
The Dagestani star painted a picture of an impossible situation, torn between multiple competing forces. On one side stood the entire world waiting for his next match, and on the other, his personal tragedy and his mother’s wishes.
“It was very difficult situation from one side. It was all world waiting for this fight and other side, I have this deal with what happened with me, with father and mother,” he explained.
Khabib’s relationship with his father transcended the typical parent-child bond. Abdulmanap was not only his father but also his coach and constant companion throughout his fighting career. “For my brother, he was only father. For me, he was father and coach, and we was travel together. We was making training camps together, going to competition together,” Khabib said.
Despite the UFC’s tight deadline and the enormous financial and professional stakes involved, Khabib ultimately chose to honor his mother’s wishes and retire from the sport at age 32.
“I choose what mother wish,” he stated simply, a decision that earned him thunderous applause from the crowd.
The champion acknowledged that had his father still been alive, his career might have continued longer. “If my father still alive, he will make me fight little bit longer because I was just 32,” he admitted. However, the combination of grief, family obligations, and the pressure from the organization created what he described as “very high pressure” that tested him like never before.
Reflecting on how he managed to compete just one month after such a devastating loss, Khabib referenced his father’s teachings about adversity. “My father told me one time, you know how people make diamonds? It’s under very high pressure. You need very, very high pressure to make diamonds. And it was very high pressure, very deep pressure, but it is what it is.”
The revelation offers rare insight into the business side of professional combat and the human cost of competing at the highest level. While Khabib successfully defended his lightweight title against Justin Gaethje in October 2020, it would be his final match. He left the octagon with an unblemished 29-0 record, cementing his legacy as one of the greatest stars in MMA history.
Today, Khabib has transitioned into coaching, working closely with stars like Islam Makhachev and other athletes from Dagestan. Though he admits the coaching role brings its own intense pressures, he remains committed to honoring his father’s legacy by developing the next generation of champions.
