Khabib Nurmagomedov Expected to Retire from MMA Coaching

It appears that Khabib Nurmagomedov is ready to step away from mixed martial arts entirely.

The former UFC lightweight champion recently shared a post on his Instagram stories indicating that he is retiring from MMA coaching. The translated post, which was shared from the account za.khabiba, reads: “Khabib is leaving the MMA industry. It’s about coaching and everything else related to MMA. The reason is Khabib’s desire to devote more time to his family.”

American Kickboxing Academy coach Javier Mendez, who cornered Nurmagomedov before later working alongside him, confirmed that the former UFC champion is retiring in an interview with Yahoo Sports. Nurmagomedov has three children.

“He just doesn’t want to miss being a father,” Mendez said. “He talked to me about three weeks ago and told me of his plan and said he planned to talk to the team and inform them of his decision. He’s doing this for the right reasons. He’s a family man and he simply wants to spend more time with his family.”

Nurmagomedov retired from fighting following a victory over Justin Gaethje at UFC 254 in October 2020. He has enjoyed a successful transition into coaching, notably helping guide Islam Makhachev to 155-pound gold this past October at UFC 280. Nurmagomedov also bought MMA promotion Eagle FC — previously known as Gorilla Fighting Championship — in late 2020 and led the organization’s expansion into the United States in early 2022.

It’s currently unclear if Nurmagomedov will corner Makhachev for his lightweight title defense against Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 284 on Feb. 11. Regardless of what the future holds for Nurmagomedov, Mendez said he greatly impacted numerous fighters through his coaching.

“Khabib learned so much from his father and from me and some of the other great coaches he worked with, and his guys have learned so much from him,” Mendez said. “He instilled the things he learned from his father in the new generation and you can see the impact.

“Is he going to be missed? Absolutely. Will it negatively affect the team? That remains to be seen, but given what a great job he’s done coaching his cousins and the others on the team, I think they’re ready to move forward and continue his legacy.”