Khabib Nurmagomedov ended his legendary MMA career Saturday night following his second-round submission win over Justin Gaethje at UFC 254.
His lightweight title defense against Gaethje marked Khabib’s first fight since the tragic death of his father and coach Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov, who passed away in July due to complications caused by COVID-19.
An excited Khabib revealed in his post-fight interview that he had promised his mother that he would not continue competing without his father by his side, and also announced his retirement.
“The Eagle” walks away from the sport with an impeccable 29-0 record. Indeed, rarely in the course of those 29 battles has Nurmagomedov had any problems. However, to Gaejthe’s credit, he managed to win a round against Khabib on the judges’ scorecards at UFC 254.
Gaethje was awarded the first round of his main event competition on two of the three scorecards. This is only the second time Khabib has lost a round in his entire MMA career.
The only other round the Russian officially lost out of the 60 he fought as a professional was the third round of his October 2018 win over Conor McGregor at UFC 229.
You can watch the third round against McGregor below if he scrolls to 11:15.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IBN_imD7y3I
Dropping just two rounds in a career as long and distinguished as Khabib’s is a phenomenal achievement. In fact, it’s debatable that Khabib was unlucky enough to lose the first session against Gaethje on Saturday night.
In a fairly even round, judges Ben Cartlidge and Sal D’Amato favored Gaethje’s surprising exit over Khabib’s overall pressure. You could easily have said that Nurmagomedov did enough to win the opening exchanges, especially since he scored a late takedown. Judge Derek Cleary took this view and awarded the round to Khabib.
You can watch the first round of last night’s fight in the video below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=duxry6dnHLM
Even in the round he lost to McGregor during his mega fight, the 32-year-old never had a problem. The fact that Khabib won the fight by submission in the next round of that fight tells his own story.
Retirements in combat sports should generally be taken with a pinch of salt. In most circumstances, fighters can be tempted to come back for the right match, or the right price!
Khabib, however, is a different breed of competitors. A man of his word with many principles, it really seems like this is the end of the road for him in MMA.
The UFC may never see another like Khabib Nurmagomedov. Yes, of course, there will always be fighters who will follow undefeated streaks, but the great level of dominance that Khabib displayed throughout his career will be very difficult to match.
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