"He changed the future of sports" - Ali Abdelaziz pays tribute to Khabib Nurmagomedov on 6th anniversary of his UFC title victory
UFC Hall of Famer Khabib Nurmagomedov won his lightweight title on April 7, 2018. Six years on from the historic day, his long-time agent and friend Ali Abdelaziz paid tribute to 'The Eagle' on social media.
The Dominance MMA founder took to Instagram to recount Nurmagomedov's dominant unanimous decision victory over Al Iaquinta at UFC 223, where he secured the championship after spending six years at the promotion.
Abdelaziz wrote about Nurmagomedov's humble origins from the mountains of Dagestan and the path he has forged for his fellow teammates and brothers from similar backgrounds. He said:
"6 years ago, this young lion [lion emoji] from a small village Sildi He changed the future of sports and opened the doors to many young guys and he made us proud that we are Muslims..." [translation via Google]
Abdelaziz also made mention of the several iconic quotes that Nurmagomedov said in his tenure as champion and throughout his unprecedented dominance in the UFC. He went on to add:
"And he left us a lot of catch phrases (Send me location, Let's go with your chicken, This is number one bullshit, Tomorrow night I'm gonna smash your boy and First of all I want to say Alhamdulillah) it was an honor for me to be with him all this time [eagle emoji]" [translation via Google]
Khabib Nurmagomedov went on to defend his title three times before retiring somewhat unexpectedly, as he did not want to carry on fighting without his father, Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov. Sadly, his father had passed away three months prior to his final bout against Justin Gaethje.
Check out Ali Abdelaziz's emotional post for Khabib Nurmagomedov below:
Ali Abdelaziz rules out Khabib Nurmagomedov return for UFC 300
There were some rumors that suggested that Khabib Nurmagomedov could potentially return to competitive MMA at the marquee UFC 300 card.
Ali Abdelaziz dispelled those rumors, however, and said that the UFC did not reach out for a potential return, nor would he entertain any such enquiry for Nurmagomedov, who has clearly stated that he wants to uphold his promise to his mother.
Abdelaziz said in an interview with TMZ:
"Even if [UFC] asked me to call Khabib, I'm not even gonna call Khabib. I'm not. I'm not gonna call Khabib to fight. The guy is done. His legacy moves on to other people like Islam, Usman, Umar, Gaethje, his team. He's a guy who created opportunities for all those guys coming up. He brought up the whole team and now just create an opportunity for other people." [3:45 onwards]
UFC 300 will be headlined by light heavyweight title clash between Alex Pereira and Jamahal Hill. It will also feature two more title bouts and multiple former champions.