Khabib Nurmagomedov has issued a statement following the confirmation that he has officially retired.
Nurmagomedov had retired after UFC 254 when he defeated Justin Gaethje in an emotional post-fight interview. Nurmagomedov was one fight away from being 30-0 and will retire undefeated. But after the passing of his father due to COVID-19, "The Eagle" said his mother had expressed her desire for him to no longer fight. Dana White had been attempting to persuade the Dagestani to return and attempt to become 30-0 as his father envisioned but those attempts have now been confirmed as futile. Nurmagomedov made the following statement on his Instagram.
It was a good dinner with some great people.
@danawhite thank you so much brother and the entire @ufc team for the opportunity to prove myself, you guys have changed many live forever because of this sport --
Dana - I’ll never forget your attitude towards me, my father did not forget and my sons will remember you.
Today there was a real conversation between real men.
Also thank you to all team, sparing partners and all fans.
I hope you will accept my decision and understand me.
Nurmagomedov will forever be in the conversation as a potential "GOAT" given how dominant he was. He lost barely any rounds in his professional career and only the third round in his fight with Conor McGregor, who also reacted to his rival's retirement, and the first round against Justin Gaethje which he could have easily won too. White has revealed now that the UFC will move on with Charles Oliveira and Michael Chandler facing off at UFC 262 for the now vacant title.
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