Khabib admits he almost retired early in 2014 due to injury concerns: “Maybe this is a sign from God that you have to stop”

The world of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) misses the great lightweight legend of all time, Khabib Nurmagomedov. Fortunately, we were able to watch him fight for six years longer than we would have.

2014 was a big year for Nurmagomedov until injuries struck and he was sidelined for two years. It was a time when fans across the community wondered if “The Eagle” was injury prone and would ever reach the inevitable potential he possessed.

Ultimately, Nurmagomedov did just that by becoming lightweight world champion when he Al Jaquinta by unanimous decision at UFC 223 in April 2018. Two years later, he tied the division record with three title defenses and ended his career with a flawless record of 29-0 at the age of 31. However, it could have all been over six years earlier.

“It was the hardest time of my career, my professional career, because I remember when I dominated Rafael dos Anjos [and] after that I broke my leg. I had a cruciate ligament operation,” Nurmagomedov said on the Inspire me Podcast (h/t MMA Junkie) “After that, dos Anjos became champion and I tried to come back. I tore my ACL again and had to have surgery again. I tried to come back. I broke my ribs.

“After that, I tried to come back,” he continued. “I had back surgery. It was a very tough time and I remember talking to my father: 'Maybe this is a sign from God that you have to stop.' He told me: 'You must not give up. If you are tough, you have to show your toughness in exams. If you are not tough, you can just give up and that's it.'”

Nurmagomedov, 35, hung up his gloves earlier than many expected, although he went beyond his original question. After the legend's father, Abdulmanap Nurmagomedovdied in 2020, Nurmagomedov's mother begged him to stop fighting and he followed the request. Now Nurmagomedov remains on the scene by training some of the best in the world, such as the new lightweight champion, Islam Makhachev.

“I remember him telling me, 'If you want to go, you have to go,'” Nurmagomedov said. “'If not, I'm still going to have a UFC champion. With you or without you, I'm going to make somebody a UFC champion.' That gave me insane energy. If my dad wants it, who has to do it if I don't? And that gave me insane energy. I just keep going, keep going. I just come back and what happened after that? That's all history.”