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WOW! Khabib Nurmagomedov Brings UFC Hall of Famer Out of Retirement to Fight in January

Published 12/07/2021, 12:04 AM EST

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Khabib Nurmagomedov was the longest-reigning UFC lightweight champion to date. He held the title for an impressive three years, from April 2018 to March 2021. ‘The Eagle’ ended his pro-MMA career with an undefeated record of 29 wins.

After defeating Justin Gaethje back in October 2020, Khabib retired from mixed martial arts. Rather than sitting idle at his home, the Dagestani purchased a Russian MMA promotion (Gorilla Fighting Championship) and renamed the organization to Eagle Fighting Championship.

Acting as an MMA promoter, Khabib plans to make Eagle FC’s American debut next month in Miami. To make this debut successful, Nurmagomedov has taken the help of former UFC light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans. He is reportedly coming out of a three-year retirement to take part at the Eagle FC 44, which is planned to go down on January 28.

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Kevin Iole of Yahoo News first broke out the news. He tweeted, “UFC Hall of Famer @SugaRashadEvans will come out of retirement to fight on @TeamKhabib’s first US card on Jan 28 in Miami at Eagle FC 44. Plans are for it to be a light heavyweight bout, but not opponent yet”

Rashad’s opponent is yet to be revealed.

Rashad Evans’s past MMA career

Rashad Evans started his professional career back in 2004. Spanning his entire MMA career, he has racked up some colossal achievements. These include accomplishments such as winning The Ultimate Fighter 2 and the UFC light heavyweight championship. Consequently, the 42-year-old light heavyweight was also inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame.

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Before making his UFC debut, Evans changed his weight class from heavyweight to light heavyweight. Rashad started his UFC career against Sam Hoger, in 2006, which he won via split decision. As of now, Evans has 19 wins and 8 losses in his entire MMA career.

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During his career, he clashed with some big names on the UFC roster. The list of his opponents includes names such as Jason Lambert, Forrest Griffin, Thiago Silva, and Jon Jones. Unfortunately, he ended his UFC career with 5 losses back to back. His last matchup was a 53-second loss against Anthony Smith in 2018.

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‘Suga’ will fight in the light-heavyweight division in his upcoming Eagle FC match. A fight between Antonio Silva and Tyrone Spong is set to be the main event.

Are you excited about Khabib Nurmagomedov’s new business venture? Who do you think should Rashad fight? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

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Written by:

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.
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