Khabib Nurmagomedov remains steadfast that he’s fought his final fight.
The retired former UFC lightweight champion called it a career after stopping Justin Gaethje at UFC 254 in October 2020, ending his career with the 155-pound title, and an undefeated record to boot.
On a recent trip to Indonesia, Nurmagomedov was asked during an interview if he would ever consider returning to the octagon.
“There is no chance,” Nurmagomedov told Indonesian outlet iNews. “Not even one percent [chance], minus [percentage].”
Of course, Nurmagomedov is still in the MMA space as he’s coaching a slew of talented fighters — including now-UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev, along with Bellator lightweight titleholder Usman Nurmagomedov, likely No. 1 UFC bantamweight contender Umar Nurmagomedov, and more.
Because of that, Nurmagomedov says his legacy will live on as the sport of mixed martial arts continues to grow and evolve.
“If you guys need champions, I’m helping my brothers to become champions,” Nurmagomedov said. “We have Islam, champion. We have Umar, next contender. We have Usman champion [in Bellator].
“We have a lot of champions. You guys [are] never going to miss me because in our team, in our gym, we create champions. You guys [are] going to [always have] champion [from our team], don’t worry about this.”
He’s smart not to return, if he fought 2-3 times he would most likely lose at least one fight and it would tarnish his legacy. Because if he wasn’t undefeated his legacy isn’t anything special. His opponents weren’t great.