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The longest-reigning UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov retired from MMA in 2020. Just after his 29th victory against Justin Gaethje, he announced this decision. Since then, the Dagestani fighter has branched out into other ventures.

From coaching the likes of Islam Makhachev and Umar Nurmagomedov to owning an MMA promotion, ‘The Eagle’ seems happy in his post-fighting career. The Russian promotion company dubbed the Eagle Fighting Championship launched back in 2020. Previously, EFC went by Gorilla Fighting Championship, but Khabib renamed it.

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This decision cost him a whopping  $1 million. Since then, Eagle FC has been looking for outstanding fighters to join them. Till now, they have signed fighters that are former UFC champions and title contenders. Consequently, UFC president Dana White advised Nurmagomedov to be cautious.

However, these words of advice didn’t sit right with Dana’s long-term nemesis/boxing promoter, Oscar De La Hoya. Oscar shared his opinion on Dana’s comment on Twitter. He said,”@TeamKhabib I’ve been a promoter in boxing for 20 years and promoted all the best, including Mayweather Pacquiao Canelo.”

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De La Hoya also claimed, “It’s not complicated you go and do your thing, MMA fighters deserve to get payed fairly. I’m in your corner.

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Oscar is one of the biggest names in boxing. He is also the founder of Golden Boy Promotions, a combat sport promotional firm. The Dual American and Mexican citizen has various successful MMA and boxing ventures under his name.

Dana White’s word of advice for Khabib Nurmagomedov

In a recent interview with MMA Junkie, UFC president Dana White talked about Khabib‘s new promotion. In addition to advising Khabib to call him, White said, “He’s gonna find out what it’s like to be on the other side and it’s not as fun as it seems. He’s gonna learn,”

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Furthermore, he also rephrased his famous tagline and quoted, “If he doesn’t know, he’s gonna know. If he calls me and wants advice, I would absolutely give him advice. But yeah, I think he’s gonna learn the hard way.”

Consequently, Eagle FC has plans to make its US debut on January 28 in Miami, Florida.

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Are you interested in Khabib’s new business venture? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.

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Siddharth Negi

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Siddharth Negi is a UFC writer at EssentiallySports. This English graduate, who has been following MMA and the culture surrounding the sport for almost four years, elected to fuse his degree and interest to provide fans with the background information beyond the fights. Negi believes that combining his vast knowledge and curiosity for every little fact of the sport with his love for language can bring a change to the reader’s point of view. Siddharth is a die-hard fan of Sean O’Malley and regards him as one of the best strikers in the game. Apart from his interest in the nuances and behind-the-scenes happenings of the UFC, Siddharth enjoys listening to K-pop and watching anime.

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