Five months after Khabib Nurmagomedov announced this emotionally in the cage and days after the last in a series of dinners with UFC president Dana White that may have made it difficult for him to make it to the welterweight, let alone the UFC finally recognized your retirement.
White refused to accept Nurmagomedov’s announcement, made after a submission in Justin Gaethje’s second round on October 24 at UFC 254. He believed that Nurmagomedov was thrilled by the loss of his father and felt he would reconsider.
“I was just doing my job, doing what I should be doing,” White told Yahoo Sports a few weeks ago about his search for Nurmagomedov.
There were a series of big money fights on the table for Nurmagomedov, and none greater than a rematch with rival and former champion Conor McGregor. White never believed that the lure of big money would attract Nurmagomedov back, but White felt that his competitive spirit could.
And then he pressed, poked, cajoled and begged, not giving up until Thursday, a week before five whole months since Nurmagomedov’s first retirement statement.
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White told Yahoo Sports via text message on Thursday that the title is vacant and that Dustin Poirier, who defeated McGregor by technical knockout in January at UFC 257, is not the champion. He confirmed an ESPN report that Michael Chandler will face Charles Oliveira for the vacant title on May 15 at UFC 262.
Whichever the winner, he will have a monumental task according to the standard established by Nurmagomedov.
He leaves the sport as the greatest active fighter and comes face to face with former light heavyweight champion Jon Jones for the mantle of the greatest fighter that has ever existed.
His story is remarkable, a young man from Russia who started out as a child struggling with bears who became not only the most ferocious fighting machine in the world, but a beacon of hope for those facing the most adverse circumstances.
Nurmagomedov left his homeland to come to the United States to pursue his profession, as so many have done over the centuries. He came without speaking English, without understanding the culture, without his father or any of his loved ones.
He had little more than the clothes on his back when he arrived and became a huge multimillionaire and one of the most popular attractions in UFC history.
He did it his way, always looking for the most difficult challenges, always presenting himself in impeccable condition, always working harder than anyone else in the room. He quickly became a leader at the American Kickboxing Academy, respected by the various superstars on Coach Javier Mendez’s list for his talent, his work ethic and his approach in the first place.
He was exceptionally close to his father, Abdulmanap, and Abdulmanap’s death last summer from a COVID-related illness affected him strongly. He struggled just three months after his father’s death, knowing that his mother wanted him to abandon the sport he was dominating.
He complied with her request and never wavered, not even in the face of White’s badger’s persistence and the knowledge that he could pocket tens of millions of additional dollars before he left forever.
But he came out on his terms, with a 29-0 record, not really telling the whole story of his domain. He lost just one round in his UFC career and simply attacked the overwhelming majority of his opponents.
Athletes like him are few and far between, and it’s a sad day when they leave forever.
Chandler and Oliveira are attractive figures themselves, but it will take extraordinary work over a long period of time to remove themselves from the huge shadow cast by Nurmagomedov.
The lightweight division is still one of the best in the UFC, but it’s not as interesting, nor as attractive, nor as much fun without Nurmagomedov ruling it from above.
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