Khabib Nurmagomedov swore on his father's grave that he will remain retired: Oliveira

UFC lightweight star Charles Oliveira recently revealed he was told by someone that Khabib Nurmagomedov “swore on his father's grave” that he will remain retired. The Brazilian, who’s scheduled to fight Tony Ferguson this Saturday night at UFC 256, said that the current champion of his division is very serious about his retirement, and would be breaking a vow if he decides to return.

"If he comes back, he would be going over his own word and his own father. If that’s true, the guy won’t come back. It’s over,” Charles Oliveira told MMANews.

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Originally, The Russian revealed that he gave his mother his word that the Justin Gaethje fight would be his last as his mother didn’t want him to fight without his father by his side. Khabib's father, Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov, died in July 2020 due to complications arising from COVID-19. The undefeated lightweight then went on to defeat Gaethje in the main event of UFC 254, taking his undefeated record to 29-0.

After the bout, Khabib Nurmagomedov broke down in tears, while remembering his father. He then thanked everyone including, UFC president Dana White and his teammates before placing his gloves in the middle of the octagon. However, there are still some people who think The Eagle would return for one last bout, including his coach Javier Mendez and Dana White. 

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Khabib UFC retirement: Khabib Nurmagomedov has finally moved on?

Despite that, in the past few weeks, it has become clear that Khabib has moved on as he spends more time on projects outside of the cage. While his primary goal is to make MMA an Olympics sport, he’s also taken control of his own MMA promotion, having bought Eagle Fighting Championship (FKA Gorilla Fighting Championship) in Russia for around $1 million. According to reports, EFC, which operates from Nurmagomedov's native Dagestan, will air events on UFC Fight Pass in the future. The UFC lightweight champion is also thinking of expanding his promotion by doing shows all over the world, including the USA.

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Image Source: AP, Charles Oliveira/ Instagram