Khabib Nurmagomedov was arguably one of the greatest lightweights that UFC ever had. When ‘The Eagle’ officially announced his retirement, many wondered whether it was the right decision. Recently, Nurmagomedov opened up about his retirement and talked about how being competitive is an addiction.

In the octagon interview of his last fight against Justin Gaethje at UFC 254, Nurmagomedov announced his retirement. However, his UFC lightweight title wasn’t vacated immediately, which led to the fans thinking about whether he is coming back. 

Then, UFC President Dana White took it to Twitter to officially announce Nurmagomedov’s retirement. 

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In a recent interview with UFC Russia, the interviewer asked Nurmagomedov whether he regrets his decision. That is when he opened up about his retirement and talked about how the competitive nature is an addiction.

‘The Eagle’ said – “No. There was not a single moment when I had regrets or doubts about my decision. However, I miss this competitive environment itself: training camps, losing weight, etc. Because it’s some sort of an addiction, and you can’t get rid of it. It simply exists.

“Sometimes, you just want to enter the octagon and kick a*s. Fight for 5 rounds straight and make it really tough. But life is life, even if not now, then at some point in life. I’d have had to quit and say no to this sport, anyway.”

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Khabib Nurmagomedov: Record, Stats, and Achievements

Nurmagomedov retired with a spectacular undefeated professional MMA record of 29-0 (8 T/KOs and 11 Submissions). Nurmagomedov, with 84% takedown defense and 65% significant strike defense, was a great defensive fighter.

As far as his achievements go, ‘The Eagle’ defeated Al Iaquinta at UFC 223 and became the UFC lightweight champion. Furthermore, he holds the record for the longest-reigning champion in the UFC lightweight division history, from 2018 to 2020.

He holds notable victories over Conor McGregor, Justin Gaethje, Dustin Poirier, and more. Nurmagomedov for sure had an illustrious MMA career inside the octagon.

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What do you make of what the former UFC lightweight champion had to say about his retirement? Is Khabib Nurmagomedov the greatest lightweight of all time?

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