Khabib Nurmagomedov has no doubts that he’ll be seeing the UFC lightweight title once again in the near future.
Nurmagomedov retired as the UFC lightweight champion following his submission win over Justin Gaethje in October 2020. That victory came months after his father and trainer, Abdulmanap, passed away at age 57 following a battle with COVID-19. After defending the belt one last time Nurmagomedov revealed that he had told his mother his fight with Gaethje would be his last.
The ‘Eagle’ has since transitioned seamlessly in to a coaching role. And on October 22, he’ll be Octagon side to corner Islam Makhachev for his title fight against former UFC lightweight champion Charles Oliveira in the main event of UFC 280.