{"id":385695,"date":"2026-01-03T14:01:09","date_gmt":"2026-01-03T14:01:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/385695\/"},"modified":"2026-01-03T14:01:09","modified_gmt":"2026-01-03T14:01:09","slug":"khabib-nurmagomedov-among-coaching-elite-in-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/385695\/","title":{"rendered":"Khabib Nurmagomedov Among Coaching Elite In 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

Khabib Nurmagomedov <\/a>\u00a0stepped away from active competition in 2020 with an undefeated 29-0 record. Against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic<\/a>, Nurmagomedov announced his retirement as a fighter in the immediate aftermath of the UFC 254<\/a> main event, he revealed that the fight against Justin Gaethje would be it for him.<\/p>\n

\u201cToday, I want to say that this is my last fight,\u201d Khabib Nurmagomedov said at the time.<\/a> \u201cAin\u2019t no way I\u2019m going to come here without my father. After what happened with my father, when the UFC called me, I talked with my mother for three days. She doesn\u2019t [allow] me to go and fight without my father, but I promise her that this is going to be my last fight.\u201d<\/p>\n

Khabib\u2019s father, Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov, succumbed to COVID-19 in July of 2020 in Moscow at age 57. In retirement, Khabib Nurmagomedov has turned to coaching at the Eagles MMA gym.
Embed from Getty Images<\/a><\/p>\n

Khabib Nurmagomedov Talks Retired Life at World Sports Summit with Rio Ferdinand<\/p>\n

Nurmagomedov was a guest at the recent World Sports Summit. During a sit-down\u00a0 interview<\/a> led by Rio Ferdinand, he mentioned that he seems pretty content with life after the fights.<\/p>\n

\u201cAbout retirement, when I retired, I never think to coming back,\u201d he said. \u201cIt was [a] very clear decision. Very, very clear decision. Of course, sometime, I want to compete with high-level guys, but in my gym, I have [the] best fighters in the world. When I miss some competition, I go to the gym. I can find, not only the best guys in the division, but I can find the best pound-for-pound guys in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even though he\u2019s no longer in MMA, Khabib Nurmagomedov says that the competitive itch still needs to be satiated from time to time.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love wrestling, I love competition,\u201d he mentioned. \u201cBut going back to the cage, no.\u201d<\/p>\n

Khabib Nurmagomedov on Switching From Competition to Coaching<\/p>\n

Khabib Nurmagomedov may have put the gloves on for a fight in the Octagon one last time over five years ago, but he\u2019s still a mainstay at flagship UFC events now, guiding his pupils cageside. At the World Sports Summit, \u201cThe Eagle\u201d discussed the adjustments he\u2019s made in going from one phase of his professional life to the next.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese things, a lot of people don\u2019t understand when I was inside and outside of the Octagon,\u201d he said. \u201cWhen I was coaching and when I was a fighter, it\u2019s a very big difference. One thing I don\u2019t really like, when I\u2019m coaching, I just can only talk. I just can only give advice, you know. I cannot do [anything] with my hands, with my body, I cannot use. I can use only advice, you know.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis part, I don\u2019t like honestly,\u201d Khabib Nurmagomedov continued. \u201cBut other things, when I was by myself inside the cage, when I can do something, when I can control the fight, this one is different. That\u2019s why, I talk about this a lot with my close people, I like to [be a] fighter more than coach.\u201d<\/p>\n

Toughness is Order of the Day with Khabib Nurmagomedov<\/p>\n

As previously mentioned, Nurmagomedov retired as an undefeated champion. It\u2019s something he accomplished due to the toughness his late father instilled in him from a young age.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom my own experience like when I was growing up, always in my gym, I was youngest,\u201d he said. \u201cMy father would bring me with the national team. It was the strongest team, it was the best team. I always was youngest, and I\u2019d do everything [with] what they told me because we have rules. In our rules, if you\u2019re young, you\u2019re always wrong. Who\u2019s older, you\u2019re always right. There [are] rules and you have to follow them, and somehow, when I finished my career, I [became] oldest in my team.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

From there, Nurmagomedov knew only he could take on the role of team leader.<\/p>\n

\u201cI look around like \u2018Who\u2019s here? Everybody\u2019s younger than me’\u201d, he said. \u201cMy father, he passed away and I\u2019m like, \u2018OK, I have to take this leadership and I have to lead this team and I have to keep continuing my father\u2019s legacy.\u2019 When the time comes, I understand I\u2019m ready for this. Some people, they are not ready and some people, they become busy with their life and because everything in their life is good and they don\u2019t think to invest to other people what you have.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Eagle\u201d Sharing Wisdom with His Pupils<\/p>\n

Later in the interview, Nurmagomedov talked about the importance of passing on what he\u2019s learned to his team members. He\u2019s hopeful that they can use his lessons to better their own causes.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat God gives us, we have to share,\u201d Khabib Nurmagomedov said. \u201cRight now, I\u2019m talking about knowledge, experience, and energy. Everything I have, I try to share with these guys. I want that they become the best. I want that they become the champion. I want that they become better than me, everything that I want, all the best for them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Final Thoughts<\/p>\n

Simply put, Khabib Nurmagomedov is carrying on his late father\u2019s legacy each and every day. Here\u2019s hoping that Nurmagomedov\u2019s team members bring home more victories in 2026.<\/p>\n

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