Khabib Nurmagomedov Reveals His Retirement Plans

Khabib Nurmagomedov had a pretty honest interview yesterday. The Russian Eagle stated that he knows that staying undefeated is virtually impossible, and that he plans to fight not more than three years from now.

One of the most famous and best fighters in the history of UFC spoke about many things. Among them was his way of thinking about his future in the ring, desire to fight in Russia, and the fact that in every sport, the champions lose at some point.

“I know a lot of young, hungry guys are coming, and I know to always be undefeated, undisputed, is not almost impossible – I think it’s impossible,” Khabib explained, saying that one must recognize when it is time for him to retire. “You have to know when you need to stop. I think maybe two years.”

Right now, the UFC lightweight champion, and maybe the biggest name of the organization, has 28 wins in his MMA career, 12 in UFC, without a single loss. Many believe that he doesn’t have a worthy opponent in his division, but still, Khabib is careful in his statements. With 31 years of age, he is aware that there are a few years more ahead of him, and that the end of his career is closer than the beginning. Right now, Nurmagomedov plans to fight for three more years, and then to retire.

“I think a couple of years,” Nurmagomedov said. “Two, three – maximum three. I think maybe two years, in my opinion, because I don’t want to fight all my life because I know it’s very hard.”

The personal goal which he set in front of him is 30 wins without a loss. It is something Khabib considers as a challenge worthy of all the hard work and sacrifice. But he doesn’t want to pick easy rivals in order to fulfill it. In fact, it is quite the opposite. For the next fight, the Russian aims Tony Ferguson, probably the toughest opponent possible. Ferguson hasn’t lost in 12 years and is considered as the only guy who could hurt Khabib.

When mentioning the next fight, Nurmagomedov revealed his wishes for that one to be in Russia. He already suggested the same thing several times before, and even during his viral trash talk with Conor McGregor, Khabib declared that he awaits him in Moscow. The undefeated champ told that he misses the home crowd, after fighting for almost 10 years outside of his home soil.

“I want my next fight to be in Russia. I fought here in 2011. Like almost 10 years ago, I fought here, and (because of that) I really want to fight here in Russia. This is my goal for the next match.”

Nurmagomedov is one of the most prominent athletes in this country. Following each of his last few fights, the Russian president, Vladimir Putin personally congratulated him and hosted the fighter with his father in the presidential palace. Back home in his native Dagestan, Khabib is the most popular individual and a role model that inspired thousands of children to dedicate their future to combat sports.

Recently he told the media that if everything goes well against Ferguson, the next opponent he would like to face would be Georges St-Pierre, who is retired. Meanwhile, the UFC and Dana White are allegedly trying to organize a rematch between him and McGregor. It should be the biggest fighting event in history, with financial profits never seen before.