Khabib Nurmagomedov’s teammate believes the former Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight champion will never compete in any combat sport again.
Zubaira Tukhugov (20-6) is scheduled to meet former UFC foe Elves Brenner in a no-gi grappling match at ACBJJ 21 this weekend in Moscow. Ahead of the matchup, Tukhugov revealed that Nurmagomedov isn’t very excited about the idea of his return to competition.
Nurmagomedov has been persuading Tukhugov to retire, suggesting that he just continue training to stay in shape. The latter told Red Corner MMA: “He laughed and was like, ‘Why do you need this?’ Leave the sport and just train for yourself. He’s been persuading me to retire for a long time.”
Zubaira Tukhugov on Khabib Nurmagomedov’s future
Nurmagomedov (29-0) retired from mixed martial arts as the undefeated, undisputed UFC lightweight champion in 2020. Despite multiple attempts by Dana White to bring him out of retirement, “The Eagle” has stood firm on his stance.
Tukhugov claims Nurmagomedov trains hard every day, almost like he is still an active athlete preparing to compete. He believes the UFC Hall of Famer is still in shape to grapple or fight anyone. However, Tukhugov is certain that Nurmagomedov won’t end his retirement for anything, even a grappling match.
“He actually trains every day, twice a day. No matter where he is and what is going on. He keeps training hard as if he’s getting ready for something. He is ready to grapple anyone right now, or even fight. But I’m 99% sure he won’t ever compete again. Based on our conversations, if he says something, he follows through on it 99% of the time.”
Tukhugov further added that Nurmagomedov would make easy work of current UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland if they were to fight right now.
