Khabib Nurmagomedov’s retirement announcement came one fight sooner than most of the mixed martial arts community expected.
The reigning lightweight champion laid his gloves down in the Octagon following his second-round submission victory over Justin Gaethje in the UFC 254 headliner at the Flash Forum in Abu Dhabi on Saturday. Nurmagomedov exits the sport with a 29-0 career mark; many thought he would pursue one last bout to end at 30-0, but a promise the Dagestani made to his mother before UFC 254 carried more weight than that pursuit.
Nurmagomedov’s father and longtime coach, Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov, died at age 57 due to COVID-19 complications in July, which made the champion’s journey to fight week that much more difficult this time around.