Khabib Nurmagomedov ‘taking some time off for his family

Khabib Nurmagomedov, a former UFC champion, has indicated that he plans to step down from his head coach position two years following his sudden exit from the competition.

After his father died in 2020, Khabib, arguably one of the best greatest fighters of all time, decided to put down the gloves and devote more time to his family. He did, nevertheless, spend a good deal of the last two years touring because of his duties as Eagle FC's administrator. and his position as a cornerman.

The UFC Hall of Famer guided Makhachev and Usman to the lightweight titles in the UFC and Bellator, respectively.

While standing with his colleagues for a photo, Khabib Nurmagomedov posted a statement on Instagram that appeared to suggest that he was quitting mixed martial arts. The Instagram caption read as follows:

“The year certainly turned out to be a very busy and successful. Take care of yourself, brothers. I hope my decision is only for the best, a big hug to you all.”

The report was implicitly confirmed by "The Eagle," but his manager Rizvan Magomedov recently made an appearance on the Russian sports network Match TV. The former lightweight champion will not accompany his pupil Islam Makhachev in the UFC 284 showdown versus Alexander Volkanovski, he said during the conversation. Note that Magomedov, who is also the CEO of Khabib Nurmagomedov's fight promoter, Eagle FC, is a close friend of the latter.

"I think he made it clear and it was such a balanced decision that he approached for a long time. There is no need to look for any behind-the-scenes reasons or radical incidents there. He just came to this. He ended his career in 2020 but travels during training camps, during fights. Out of 12 months, he is 10 absent from home, constantly on these trips. And he came to such a decision that it was time to spend time with his family, devote time to children. And, most likely, he will miss this fight, yes."

While rapidly establishing himself as among the good coaches in the industry after his departure from competing in October 2020, Khabib Nurmagomedov caused a stir by sharing an Instagram post that hinted at him completely leaving mixed martial arts.

He has worked with athletes like UFC Lightweight Champion Makhachev, Bellator Lightweight Champion Usman Nurmagomedov, Umar Nurmagomedov, Abubakar Nurmagomedov, and even Belal Muhammad, who he coached and cornered during his recent victory over Sean Brady.

It is worth noting that the legendary fighter, who compiled a 29-0 record in mixed martial arts after his third title defense against Justin Gaethje, declared his retirement in October 2020 at the insistence of his mother.