Khabib Nurmagomedov ended his career with a perfect 29-0 record in 2020.
The Dagestani is widely considered the greatest lightweight in UFC history, having gone undefeated in an unprecedented run in mixed martial arts.
After successful title defenses against Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier, Nurmagomedov submitted Justin Gaethje at UFC 254 before announcing his retirement.
He’s now been out of the cage for almost six years, but that does not mean ‘The Eagle’ has lost much of a step.
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Khabib Nurmagomedov says damage-free career means he can ‘still compete’ in the gym
After fulfilling his mother’s wishes by hanging up the gloves following the death of his father, Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov, Khabib has remained a prominent figure in MMA through coaching.
As well as stars like Islam Makhachev and his cousins, Usman and Umar Nurmagomedov, ‘The Eagle’ has been training the next generation of standout Russian mixed martial artists.
And thanks to the damage-free exit he made from competition, Khabib claims he can still hang with them behind closed doors.
“I have a couple of surgeries in my body, my knee, my back. But I am fully good. I finished my career, I still compete in the gym with high level (fighters),” Nurmagomedov said on the SEF Backstage Pass Podcast.
“I have some of the best students in the world. They are fighters and they are on top, and I can compete with them.
“Because in my career, I never got damaged in fights,” he continued. “I was always good, my face was good… Body, I am not going to say I am one hundred percent fit.
“But if you compare to other fighters when they finish, how they have brain damage, body damage, everything, Alhamdulillah I am very good.”
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Nurmagomedov opened a new training center in Dagestan last year, funding a state-of-the-art facility in the region’s mountains.
It is there where he and his team will hope to produce more Dagestani stars capable of winning gold on MMA’s biggest stages.