Khabib Nurmagomedov shocked the world when he retired from MMA while he was still the undefeated UFC lightweight champion in 2020 and now he’s done the same thing with his brief but highly successful stint as a coach.
The 34-year-old Nurmagomedov has proven to be as adept in his coaching role as he was competing in the Octagon as in 2022 he oversaw Islam Makhachev’s rise to win the UFC lightweight title, while over in Bellator he also had a hand in Usman Nurmagomedov’s 155lb title win in Bellator among numerous other achievements.
However, a somewhat cryptic post on social media from Nurmagomedov a few days ago suggested that he might be stepping away from his coaching duties.
“Concluding the year,” Nurmagomedov wrote in Russian alongside a photo of his team. “Take care brothers. The year certainly turned out to be a very busy and successful.
“I hope my decision is only for the best, a big hug to you all. Thank you. You were a big reason for my success in sports.”
Now Yahoo! Sports Kevin Iole has confirmed with Javier Mendez at the AKA gym that Nurmagomedov has indeed decided to retire from coaching.
“He just doesn’t want to miss being a father,” Mendez told Yahoo Sports. “He talked to me about three weeks ago and told me of his plan and said he planned to talk to the team and inform them of his decision. He’s doing this for the right reasons. He’s a family man and he simply wants to spend more time with his family.”
