Khabib Nurmagomedov was the talk of the town last week when he dispatched Dustin Poirier in Abu Dhabi to retain his UFC Lightweight Championship. Khabib improved his record to 28-0 as his undefeated streak in MMA continues after his win over Poirier. Over the course of three rounds, Khabib completely dominated Poirier and made him tap out to a rear naked choke much to the adulation of the Saudi Arabian fans.
Khabib’s second title fight against Conor McGregor catapulted his stardom and made him one of the most watched athletes in the world. And since then he has become a must watch fighter in the UFC, someone who has millions rooting for his success. However, there might be a time when the Dagestani wrestler hangs up his gloves and rides off into the sunset. But that time may come sooner rather than later, according to his father.
Khabib’s father and coach Abdulmanap has given an interview to Russian news agency TASS and admitted that his son could retire after two fights.
“For Khabib, 30-0 is enough.”
“Regarding his last fight, then of course, we would like his final title defense to be in Moscow,” he added
Khabib had the support of thousands of supporters in Yas Island, Abu Dhabi as was vociferous as they chanted his name full volume. And they were not disappointed as Khabib retained his title in impressive fashion.
‘The Eagle’ had earlier commented that he also would like to retire early as he is not looking to fight till his 40s.
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Once at the start of second round, Poirier was landing some punches as Khabib tried to evade. Then just before the finish, Poirier locked in a guillotine which was also masterfully negated by the Dagestani.
‘I’m not a young fighter. I’ve already been champion for years, I’ve already defended my title. This is my second defense. Of course, I don’t have a lot of fights ahead, because I don’t want to fight when I’m 40 years old. This isn’t my plan. We’ll see.”
Khabib has many options in front of him. The most obvious one is Tony Ferguson, who is the no. 1 contender and is on a 12-fight winning streak. There is another big name, Conor McGregor lurking in the back ground, who has even commented that he would like to fight in Moscow. However, Khabib maintains that he would like to fight Georges St-Pierre before he calls time on his career.
First Published:
Sep 12, 2019 16:02 IST
Source: HindustanTimes