UFC Legend Khabib Nurmagomedov Retires as MMA Coach to Focus on His Family

Khabib Nurmagomedov, who has already stopped competing, is completely leaving mixed martial arts

The former UFC lightweight champion said on Friday that he is quitting teaching to spend more time with his family.

Mendez stated, "He just doesn't want to lose out on being a father. "He spoke to me around three weeks ago and explained his strategy, saying he would then inform the squad of his choice." He is doing appropriately in this situation.

He is doing appropriately in this situation. He merely wants to spend more time with his family since he is a family man.

In his prime, Nurmagomedov retired from competitive sports. At UFC 254 in October 2020, he defeated Justin Gaethje via submission to improve his record to an unblemished 29-0. Additionally, it was his third consecutive time successfully defending his lightweight title.

During his tenure in the UFC, the 34-year-old was one of the best fighters pound-for-pound, and Mendez believed his former student could achieve similar heights as a coach.

On the UFC Unfiltered podcast in October, he claimed that Khabib was already leaving a significant effect (via Farah Hannoun of MMA Junkie).

He claimed, "He's learned from me, and he's learnt from his father—mostly his father." But in my opinion, given his age, what he's doing, the camp I see, and the fighters he has, he's on the right track to becoming the best coach of all time. I see it. I can see it written on the wall.

The most prominent athlete that trained under Nurmagomedov was Islam Makhachev. At UFC 280 in October of last year, Makhachev submitted Charles Oliveira to win the lightweight title. On February 11, he will compete for the belt against Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 284.

Mendez informed Iole that it's uncertain whether Nurmagomedov's retirement takes effect right away or if he'll hang around long enough to continue competing in Makhachev's division.