Is Khabib Nurmagomedov really leaving MMA completely?

Is Khabib Nurmagomedov really leaving MMA completely?

Former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov has been retired from MMA competition since he defeated Justin Gaethje in 2020 but it seems like he might be retiring from all aspects of the fight game.

According to a cryptic Instagram post, it seems that Nurmagomedov, who has spent his retirement running Eagle FC and coaching, might be stepping away.

“The year certainly turned out to be a very busy and successful,” Nurmagomedov wrote on Instagram (translated into English by Instagram. “Take care of yourself brothers. I hope my decision is only for the best, a big hug to you all. Thank you, you were a big reason for my success in sports.”

A Russian journalist says ‘Khabib Nurmagomedov will leave MMA completely and irrevocably’

A Russian journalist confirmed the news writing, “Khabib will leave MMA.” He went on to explain further in Russian, translated by Google into English:

"“Khabib Nurmagomedov will leave MMA completely and irrevocably. People started talking about this after his post about summing up the results of the year, where he wrote “about a difficult decision.”It is a “tough decision” to reduce one’s own participation in MMA. Here we are talking about coaching, participating in training camps, and attending almost all tournaments. I think that Khabib was simply tired and realized that it is very energy-consuming and hard to be everywhere. It’s hard and emotional. Yes, I think that he will no longer train anyone. But occasionally he will train with the team – this is his life, it is necessary to keep fit.Will he sell EFC? I don’t think. Now his constant participation in the affairs of the league is not required, it is managed by other people. He will also be able to attend tournaments, but perhaps less often than before. I think Khabib will focus on his family and other non-MMA businesses.”"

There has been no official word on if this is the case, but it seems like it might be the case.