“I Suffered and Enjoyed This Moment”: 3 Years After His Retirement, Khabib Nurmagomedov Opens Up on His Final Weight Cut Before the Justin Gaethje Fight at UFC 254

It has been over three years since the undefeated Khabib Nurmagomedov retired from the sport of MMA. Fans wanted him to fight more, but the sad demise of his father did not help his case and he decided to walk away from active competition. Recently, he appeared in an interview talking about his final weight cut for UFC 254, which most people thought was a brutal process.

‘The Eagle’ retired undefeated after beating Justin Gaethje in his last fight via an arm triangle choke. Meanwhile, Nurmagomedov sat down with ‘Gorilla Fighting’ to explain the whirlwind of emotions that ran through him during the weight-cutting process. Let’s take a look at what he had to say.

The last weight cut was an emotional affair for Khabib Nurmagomedov

The UFC Hall of Famer mentioned that he was very emotional during the weight-cutting process of his UFC 254 fight. The reason behind it was that only Nurmagomedov knew that it was his last fight. He knew that he was never going to fight again. ‘The Eagle’ said, “I knew for myself, but the environment did not know that this was my last weight cut. That I won’t be at this weight anymore. I knew it would never happen again.”

Nobody knew that Khabib Nurmagomedov would announce his retirement after the fight. The loss of his father weighed heavily on him. He added, “I knew this was my last fight, my last 70kg (155lbs) cut.” Unlike his weight cut for the Tony Ferguson fight where he was hospitalized, this one was a rather smooth process.

No problems for ‘The Eagle’ when he was cutting weight for UFC 254

Khabib Nurmagomedov mentioned that his weight-cutting process for the fight against Justin Gaethje went very well. Moreover, he dismissed rumors spread on the internet that he had a hard time doing that. Nurmagomedov said, “I lost weight very well. I don’t know what videos have been on the internet about it.”

Rather, he surprised his teammates, including the reigning lightweight champion Islam Makhachev. “But Zubaira, Islam, Rizvan, Esed, everyone was around, Shamil, Usman, they were all surprised. They said I made a cut on the positive,” said the Hall of Famer. It was his last fight, and he had mixed emotions. ‘The Eagle’ added, “That is my last fight, last weight cut… I suffered and enjoyed this moment.”

READ MORE: “He Wasn’t Quite Proficient”- Stark Difference Between Khabib and Islam Makhachev Revealed by Legendary Coach

Khabib Nurmagomedov seems to have come to terms that his fighting career is over. Even after Dana White requested him several times, ‘The Eagle showed no intentions of a return. However, he recently shared a photo on Instagram of him at the AKA gym. It made people start to speculate if he’s back. We will have to wait and see if that is the case.

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