Getty Jon Jones & Khabib Nurmagomedov
After months of pursuing lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, UFC president Dana White conceded on Thursday that “The Eagle” is retiring.
Nurmagomedov shocked the MMA community in October after announcing he was hanging up his gloves for good after defeating Justin Gaethje. However, White was adamant that he could persuade Nurmagomedov to fight one more time to try and achieve 30-0. But, 29-0 is where it ends for the Russian.
“29-0 it is,” White tweeted Thursday, sharing a selfie of himself with The Eagle. “He is officially retired. It was incredible to watch you work @TeamKhabib thank you for EVERYTHING and enjoy whatever is next my friend.”
29-0 it is.
He is 💯 officially retired. It was incredible to watch you work @TeamKhabib thank you for EVERYTHING and enjoy whatever is next my friend.
Former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones briefly shared his thoughts on Nurmagomedov’s retirement before deleting the post minutes later. Bones posted a meme of a figure representing Nurmagomedov celebrating his four UFC title wins by drinking champagne on a podium. The kicker is that Nurmagomedov is celebrating on a step lower than multiple UFC champions who have won more UFC title fights.
Jones notably took issue when Nurmagomedov was elevated to the No. 1 spot in the male pound-for-pound rankings. It was the position Bones was holding, knocking him down to No. 2 in October.
Jones defended his reasoning for being No. 1, specifically the length of his dominance versus Nurmagomedov’s. The meme Jones posted was likely fueled by this as he is still ranked under The Eagle.
Jones wrote, “Nothing wrong with going out on top, enjoy retirement kid.” See the meme shared via the Instagram account “War.iorz” below:
Included in the list:
Former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones
Former UFC middleweight and welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre
Former UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson
Former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva
Former UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo
Current UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic
Current UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov.
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Nurmagomedov Retires With an Impressive Record With Wins Over Big Names
The Eagle has accomplished what MMA fighters dream of, retiring from the sport as an undefeated UFC champion. In his 29 victories, Nurmagomedov has finished 19 of his opponents, 11 by submission and 8 by T(KO).
In his 13-fight UFC career, The Eagle has defeated the likes of Dustin Poirier, Justin Gaethje and Conor McGregor, all by submission. He also holds notable wins over Rafael dos Anjos, Edson Barboza and Al Iaquinta.
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Jones Holds the Record for Most UFC Title Wins
Bones has won the most UFC championship fights in the history of the promotion with 14. Since 2011, every fight Bones has been in has been for a title. He has defeated former champions, including Lyoto Machida, Quinton Jackson and Daniel Cormier.
Jones has a professional MMA record of 26-1 and one no contest. His sole loss came via DQ to Matt Hamill in a fight Bones was dominating.
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