Khabib Nurmagomedov has unveiled another factor that would prevent him from making a return to the Octagon.
Nurmagomedov retired following a technical submission win over Justin Gaethje back in 2020. “The Eagle” walked away from MMA competition due to the wishes of his mother, who wanted him to retire following the passing of Abdulmanap, Nurmagomedov’s father. Nurmagomedov retired with a perfect pro MMA record of 29-0 and he became a UFC Hall of Famer.
While Abdulmanap’s death played a vital role in Nurmagomedov’s decision to hang up his gloves, there is another reason for him to stay out of action. During an appearance on “Hustle Show,” Khabib Nurmagomedov explained how the need for lengthy preparation at his age, 36, is als0 a good reason for him to avoid a comeback (h/t MMAFighting).
“You can’t just say, ‘Give me six months, I’ll be ready,’” Nurmagomedov said. “No. To get into fight shape, to get back to your old form, you need a lot of time. But back when I was still fighting, before I retired, I trained regularly too and that was enough for me. It worked. If I was given a fight, boom, in 100 days I’d shut everything off. Completely. No traveling, no meetings, no business contracts. I didn’t touch anything. I told them, ‘Don’t bother me.’ I trained morning and night, morning and night, morning and night, resting only Sundays.
“If I missed even one of those two-a-day sessions, like I said earlier, I’d get a panic attack, because I knew I had to fight and it felt out of control. Like I wasn’t ready. Like that cage door was about to shut on me.”
Nurmagomedov is still heavily involved in the sport of MMA, coaching the likes of former UFC Lightweight Champion Islam Makhachev. Nurmagomedov will be in Makhachev’s ear ahead of a big UFC Welterweight Championship clash against titleholder Jack Della Maddalena.