Khabib Nurmagomedov is still receiving comeback calls years after retiring from MMA.
At just 32 years old, ‘The Eagle’ walked away from fighting following UFC 254 in October 2020.
Khabib Nurmagomedov choked out Justin Gaethje before dropping the news during his post-fight interview.
Since retiring, the 29-0 Russian’s potential comeback has been a major talking point for MMA fans.
Khabib Nurmagomedov’s constant comeback offers
Dana White initially tried to convince Khabib Nurmagomedov to continue his career.
The UFC CEO soon realized his lightweight champion was serious about his retirement decision.
Five years later, Nurmagomedov appears to be content with his decision after becoming one of MMA’s best coaches.
Although the UFC has totally given up on getting him back, others continue to test Nurmagomedov’s resolve, despite his obvious lack of interest in competing again.
“They keep offering me grappling,” he said on the Hustle Show.
“Yeah, grappling offers all the time.
“There wasn’t anyone. They had no opponents.
“They said, ‘If you agree, we’ll find an opponent for you.
“Never even thought about it [accepting a comeback offer].”
Khabib Nurmagomedov thinks Jon Jones is past it
Khabib Nurmagomedov thinks Jon Jones should be following him into retirement.
The greatest UFC fighter of all time recently announced that he was done with MMA.
Just days later, Jones made a retirement U-turn after learning about the planned UFC White House card.
“I mean, he’s like 38 now,” Nurmagomedov said when asked about the Jones retirement drama.
“But, no, he’s been gone for a while. Let’s be honest. How many fights has he had in the last five years?
One or two in the last five years. He’s been done for a while. Even those last [light heavyweight] fights – [Thiago] Santos and [Dominick] Reyes – they were controversial.
“You know, his prime was clearly behind him. Then he fought Ciryl Gane. I think they just gave him the money. That’s it.
“Everyone has their prime, and his was long past.”