UFC chief, Dana White has announced that fighter Khabib Nurmagomedov will be retiring from the sport.
Khabib, one of the greatest fighters of all time, beat Justin Gaethje in October to make it 13 wins from 13 in UFC and an unbeaten 29-0 record overall.
The development comes amid rumours of a return to the octagon for the legendary Russian but those rumours have now been squashed by Khabib and Dana White .
After both men had a dinner on Thursday night, Thursday March 18, they both confirmed the news on social media.
White uploaded a picture of the pair and captioned it;
29-0 it is. He is officially retired. It was incredible to watch you work @TeamKhabib thank you for EVERYTHING and enjoy whatever is next my friend.
29-0 it is.
He is 💯 officially retired. It was incredible to watch you work @TeamKhabib thank you for EVERYTHING and enjoy whatever is next my friend. pic.twitter.com/QeoSP12zw2
— danawhite (@danawhite) March 19, 2021
Shortly after, Khabib shared the same photo with an emotional caption of his own.
He wrote;
It was a good dinner with some great people. Dana White, thank you so much brother and the entire UFC team for the opportunity to prove myself, you guys have changed many lives forever because of this sport.
“It was a good dinner with some great people.@danawhite thank you so much brother and the entire @ufc team for the opportunity to prove myself, you guys have changed many live forever because of this sport 👊…” pic.twitter.com/BR1MPyyy5n
— Zoheb MMA (@ZohebMMA) March 19, 2021
Dana – I’ll never forget your attitude towards me, my father did not forget and my sons will remember you. Today there was a real conversation between real men. Also thank you to all my team, sparing partners and all fans. I hope you will accept my decision and understand me.
“…Dana – I’ll never forget your attitude towards me, my father did not forget and my sons will remember you.
Today there was a real conversation between real men.Also thank you to all team, sparing partners and all fans.
I hope you will accept my decision and understand me.” pic.twitter.com/RxazsgFifp
— Zoheb MMA (@ZohebMMA) March 19, 2021
In January, Khabib said his mum wanted him to quit the sport following the death of his father after he contracted COVID-19.
