Former UFC lightweight king Khabib Nurmagomedov, who solidified his legacy with an impeccable 29-0 record and never bled or bruised in his fights, is currently engaged in verbal jabs with his former potential rival, Tony Ferguson. Despite several attempts to schedule a fight between them, it never came to fruition. Recently, ‘The Eagle’ stated that Ferguson was a mismatched fighter for him because of his lack of a wrestling background and claimed, “Only chance how he can stop me, it was only a lucky punch.” Just two days later, it seemed that this lucky punch might become a reality.

Recently, an MMA-oriented page on Instagram, @homeoffight, uploaded a picture of Khabib Nurmagomedov walking down the street with what appeared to be a black eye as if he had been punched very hard in the face. The caption read, “Rare photo of Khabib with a black eye.” In the picture, ‘The Eagle’ tried to conceal the bruise with a windbreaker jacket, but the attempt was unsuccessful.

Khabib Nurmagomedov is currently retired and living life as a coach after his father passed away. Since then, he has ended his professional fighting career to manage his fight school and assist his head coach Javier Mendez, in training his cousins and friends like Islam Makhachev. In the past, Nurmagomedov has given many fighters a black eye, but this time he has one himself, which MMA fans never expected. They couldn’t resist sharing their reactions to this.

Khabib Nurmagomedov’s ‘bruised’ appearance left fans speculating

A fan in the comments eagerly mentioned Conor McGregor‘s expected reaction to the @homeoffight post, saying, “can’t wait for Conor to tweet about it and then delete it right after,” though McGregor has yet to comment on the matter. Another fan highlighted Khabib Nurmagomedov’s clean undefeated status, noting, “Khabib always had bruises when sparring compared to the actual fight,” referencing the fact that ‘The Eagle’ never sustained any bruises in his fights.

Many thought Nurmagomedov would enjoy retirement and focus on coaching, but recent developments suggest otherwise. The 35-year-old’s recent issue with the Russian tax authorities became a hot topic when it was claimed he had misappropriated around $3.4 million. This debt was cleared this month. A fan linked this situation to Nurmagomedov’s black eye, commenting, “Russian tax man is different.”

Another social media user questioned the former UFC fighter’s undefeated status, noting, “Bro is 29-1. Beatable now” Meanwhile, another fan expressed doubt about the person who gave ‘The Eagle’ the black eye, commenting, “Wonder what the other guy looks like.” 

What are your thoughts on Khabib Nurmagomedov’s bruised eye? Let us know in the comments below.