Khabib Nurmagomedov doubles down on UFC retirement; claims he is 'ready to go further' with new business venture
Khabib Nurmagomedov took to Instagram to update his fans on his latest business venture outside the Octagon. The Lightweight Champion announced his retirement at UFC 254 after he beat Justin Gaethje in the second round.
His post read:
"Honesty and responsibility are the principles on which I have built my sports career. Today I am ready to go further - and I can already tell you the important news that I have been preparing for so long. Soon, my team and I will launch a new mobile operator @eaglemobile_official based on my own values and beliefs.
"While the coverage area is Moscow and the Moscow region, but this is only the beginning, our plans are much larger. Follow the news to become one of the first owners of our SIM-cards - and believe me, everything is much better than you imagine."
Although Khabib announced his retirement in October, he is yet to remove himself from the USADA testing pool. Khabib's manager Ali Abdelaziz revealed recently on Twitter that the Russian was tested for the 47th time.
UFC president Dana White remains confident that Khabib will return for one last fight, to compete for 30-0 in his career. Speaking on Tuesday after the Contender Series, White said:
"He is still testing. Why the hell would you want to test still if you are not gonna fight? He hasn’t committed but I feel like he is gonna. I am not really pushing him. We talked about it. He just fought. Let him take some time, spend some time with his family. Spend the holidays. There’s no rush."
Khabib Nurmagomedov announces his new business venture
Despite Dana White's insistence that Khabib will return to the Octagon, there have been no indications from the 32-year-old regarding a possible return. Khabib's teammate Daniel Cormier believes the Russian's retirement is final.
"This is real. Khabib doesn't lie. Khabib doesn't play 'I'm retiring and I'm coming back'. When he said that, and he said, 'I give my word, and that's the only thing I have,' I was like, 'He's done'."
It'll be interesting to see if a potentially interesting matchup can usher the AKA fighter back from retirement.