Khabib Nurmagomedov's latest post hints that he may be done with the UFC after all
It seems like Khabib Nurmagomedov is indeed done with his career as a professional fighter. His latest post on Instagram is a reminder of the fact that he has successfully completed his journey from a small village in Dagestan to the pinnacle of prizefighting.
Nurmagomedov posted a picture of a younger version of himself, holding his late father Abdulmanap's hand and looking ahead at the glorious journey that was about to follow. Depicting the mountainous landscape of Dagestan, the picture beautifully represents Khabib Nurmagomedov's entire career, starting from his wrestling and combat sambo days to the Russian MMA promotion and finally, the UFC.
The picture also pays tribute to the relationship Khabib shared with his father and how he always held the undefeated Russian's hand throughout his journey of becoming the best fighter in the world. In all likelihood, it also symbolizes that Khabib has reached his goal and will probably not fight again, in the absence of his late father and trainer.
Khabib Nurmagomedov has achieved everything he set out to achieve, concluding with winning and defending the UFC lightweight title against the top contenders in the UFC lightweight division. The picture shows an eagle sitting proudly on top of the title, likely symbolizing how Khabib is the undisputed and undefeated champion in the promotion.
Nurmagomedov captioned the picture with an inspiring message. He referred to his incredible journey which started from a small village in Dagestan and urged everyone to set high goals and strive to be the very best version of themselves in their respective fields of work.
From the high-mountainous village of Dagestan, where people worked in the summer to survive in the winter. In any field, be it medicine, sports or study, we should always set higher goals, just be the best in everything and everywhere.
Khabib Nurmagomedov's emotional attachment with his father likely to keep him outside the octagon
While it's unknown whether Khabib Nurmagomedov will ever fight again, his comments since his victory against Justin Gaethje at UFC 254 hint that he doesn't wish to compete anymore. In his retirement speech, Nurmagomedov mentioned that he promised his mother that the fight against Gaethje was the last time he would set foot inside the cage.
Khabib was trained by Abdulmanap from a very young age and he was emotionally attached to his father. Following his tragic demise, a heartbroken Khabib prepared himself for one last dance with Gaethje, to complete the final stage of his "father's plan". However, once he defeated Gaethje, Khabib Nurmagomedov said that he doesn't wish to continue fighting in the absence of his father.