Khabib Nurmagomedov has retired a champion. After successfully defending his lightweight belt UFC 254, the Dagestan native gave an emotional farewell speech to professional mixed martial arts.
“Today I want to say it was my last fight,” an emotional Nurmagomedov said after the fight “In no way am I gonna come here without my father. After what happened with my father, when UFC called me about Justin, I talked with my mother for three days. She didn’t want me to go fight without my father, but I promised her it’s gonna be my last fight. And if I give my word, I have to follow this.”
Nurmagomedov's father, Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov, passed away earlier this year due to COVID-19 related complications. He was also Khabib's trainer.
Khabib Nurmagomedov retires with a perfect 13-0 record in the UFC (29-0 in his mixed martial arts career). He won the lightweight title against Al Iaquinta in April 2018 and successfully defended it three times, knocking off Conor McGregor, Dustin Poirier and Justin Gaethje.
Speculation regarding Nurmagomedov's retirement has been mounting for a while now but many believed he would try and get to 30-0 to cement his legacy as the best ever in mixed martial arts. However, he didn't seem interested in the prospect of a rematch against McGregor and seemed uninterested in facing Tony Ferguson. The only fight that would seemingly draw him out of retirement at this point is one against Georges St-Pierre which, according to Khabib's trainer, was his late father's dream.
He did have one request following his win on Saturday night:
"It was my last fight here. I know only one thing I want for UFC -- you guys have to put me No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the world because I deserve it," Nurmagomedov said. "Undisputed UFC light heavyweight champion, 13-0. ... I think I deserve it."
As for the fight itself, it was another dominant performance from Nurmagomedov. After a brief feeling-out process early in the first, Nurmagomedov turned up the pressure. Gaethje tried to slow the champion by chopping at his legs, but Nurmagomedov was unrelenting in his pursuit.
Gaethje scored some nice shots, but it seemed to have little effect on Nurmagomedov who landed his own knees, kicks and punches. With less than a minute in the first round, Nurmagomedov scored his first takedown. He went for an armbar submission but was cut short by the horn.
Gaethje continued to focus on Nurmagomedov's leg early in round two, but the champion responded iwth a fast takedown. He quickly moved to the mount before locking in the triangle choke. Gaethje appeared to tap but the referee seemed to miss it and he was ultimately choked out at 1:34 in the second frame.
With the win, Nurmagomedov retires as champion and with a 29-0 career MMA record. Gaethje falls to 22-3 but will likely get another shot when he fights for the vacant title next. He said during the post-fight interview he'd be ready to go in six to eight weeks.