Khabib Nurmagomedov shares photo of swollen face with mumps ahead of Justin Gaethje fight
Khabib Nurmagomedov has revealed that he was suffering from mumps ahead of his fight against Justin Gaethje at UFC 254. The Dagestani fighter also detailed his grueling battle with a broken thumb and a strenuous weight cut, days before he defended his title for the third time.
Nurmagomedov defeated Gaethje via triangle choke submission in the second round. 'The Eagle' announced his retirement immediately after the fight during his post-fight interview.
In the latest interview with fellow fighter and friend Magomed Ismailov, Khabib Nurmagomedov explained how challenging his training camp was ahead of UFC 254. The 32-year-old then proceeded to show his image with a swelled-up face.
"I was suffering this disease. But the people were asking, 'Why is he wearing a mask like that?' It's because my face got swelled. It was 9th of September in the morning, and when I woke up, I had the mumps already. It was getting really bad, and after a while, I was taken to the hospital and had I had an intensive care for five days. It was really bad," said Nurmagomedov. (Translation courtesy: Magomed Ismailov's YouTube channel)
Khabib Nurmagomedov added that the mumps he was suffering with, restricted him from training for 15 days.
Khabib Nurmagomedov broke his thumb two weeks before UFC 254
Further in the interview, Khabib Nurmagomedov threw light on the issue with his broken thumb. The Eagle revealed that he broke his thumb on 7th of October, and he fought Justin Gaethje with a tape wrapped over it.
Nurmagomedov said that the video of his broken thumb will be released in his documentary biopic that is expected to come out in a year and a half, according to him.
"Have a look on my thumb that I broke... I have it wrapped in my fight. It was dislocated, they pulled it back and I have a video of that as well, and you will see that in the movie," said Nurmagomedov.
Nurmagomedov successfully defended his lightweight championship for the third consecutive time at UFC 254. After he announced his retirement, Dana White has been trying to convince the Dagestani fighter to make a return. The UFC president is expected to meet Nurmagomedov once again in Vegas later this month.