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The manager for one of the biggest and best UFC superstars in the world revealed via Twitter on Saturday that recent reports coming out of Russia suggesting his fighter had decided to retire were “absolutely false”.
Ali Abdelaziz, CEO of Dominance MMA Management, told his followers not to fall for “fake news” reports about UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov.
“Some of the Russian media reported I said Khabib is retired,” Abdelaziz said. “This is absolutely false. Khabib is grieving with his father passing away. I want everyone to be respectful to the situation and don’t give fake news.”
Abdelaziz: ‘More Important Things In Life Than Fighting’
Abdelaziz also suggested that he would support his fighter no matter what the lightweight champion ultimately decided to do next with his fighting career.
The 31-year-old seems to be at the top of his game right now, but nobody really knows yet whether Nurmagomedov will continue his career after the shocking loss of his father earlier this month.
Regardless, Abdelaziz said he’d support his fighter’s decision either way.
“Whatever Khabib wants I will support 100%. He is my brother, there’s a lot more important things in life than fighting. God bless you all.”
Perhaps even more importantly, though, Abdelaziz said nothing’s been decided yet.
Champ Still Mourning Father’s Recent Passing
Nurmagomedov’s father, Abdulmanap, passed away in Moscow following a long battle with the coronavirus and other ailments.
The undefeated UFC lightweight champ was on his way to facing interim lightweight champ Justin Gaethje later this year, but now no one is sure when or if that fight will happen.
UFC president Dana White recently suggested that the champ could take as long as he needs to mourn his father’s death before returning to the cage.
“It’s terrible,” White said during a recent UFC 251 press event. “[We’re] just giving him time to mourn and do whatever he needs to do. We’re not bothering him at all right now. We’re just leaving him alone.”
Abdelaziz revealed basically that same idea on Saturday. Whenever Nurmagomedov is ready to announce his next move, he’ll do it.
Until then, Abdelaziz believes everyone should just let the fighter be.
Massive Fights Ahead for UFC Lightweight Champ
If Nurmagomedov continues his career as most people expect, the UFC lightweight champ has plenty of big fights still ahead.
First, Nurmagomedov is likely turning his attention toward Gaethje. Both fighters are managed by Abdelaziz, and Gaethje earned the right to face Nurmagomedov next when he filled in for the champ on late notice against Tony Ferguson at UFC 249.
In that fight, Gaethje stopped Ferguson for the interim title, so now he’ll face Nurmagomedov for the undisputed championship.
But the biggest fight that seems to be on the way for Nurmagomedov is a rematch against Irish superstar Conor McGregor.
Nurmagomedov beat McGregor at UFC 229 in 2018 in the best-selling UFC pay-per-view event in history, but most expect the rematch might even do bigger numbers.
That alone would make Khabib-McGregor 2 an important fight to make, and McGregor’s stunning performance over Donald Cerrone at UFC 246 back in January made it that much easier to promote.
McGregor stopped Cerrone in just 40 seconds.
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