Khabib Nurmagomedov has settled pretty well into his post-MMA life. While many may feel that the undefeated Dagestani retired prematurely and there are periodic rumors he may return, nothing could be further from the truth. ‘The Eagle’ has repeated on multiple occasions that he is content being retired. In fact, he wants nothing to do with the sport anymore! After all, the former UFC lightweight champ retired from even being a coach early last year.

But he still finds the time to train his friends and teammates when an important fight is approaching and even corners them on fight night. With UFC 311 around the corner, it wasn’t surprising to see Khabib in camp with the UFC stars. But during that camp, Nurmagomedov made a comment which has puzzled fans.

Former flyweight champ Demetrious Johnson joined the Dagestanis’ camp ahead of UFC 311 and asked ‘The Eagle’ what he thought of coaching. “I don’t like it,” Nurmagomedov said simply. “Too stressful?” Johnson asked, to which ‘The Eagle’ nodded vigorously. And verbose UFC analyst Chael Sonnen thinks he knows exactly why Nurmagomedov said that.

“When Khabib says he doesn’t like the sport or rather, I apologize, he doesn’t like cornering, doesn’t like coaching. There are two different ways to take that and I think that perhaps what Khabib is just talking about is the emotional drain of it. Now I could be wrong, maybe these guys drive him crazy and he doesn’t want to be with them, but I don’t tend to think that’s what he meant,” Sonnen said on his official YouTube channel.

After all, Nurmagomedov loves the guys he trains, since many of them are his family or his close friends. This means he is very invested in them and their careers, and training them or cornering them must take a toll on his mental health. Especially the next time Nurmagomedov corners his fighters, which might be his hardest night in the UFC so far.

Why UFC 311 will likely be an uphill battle for Khabib Nurmagomedov?

Since Khabib Nurmagomedov hates the stress that comes with coaching, he will hate the night of January 18. After all, 2025’s first PPV event will feature his cousin Umar Nurmagomedov against Merab Dvalishvili for the bantamweight title and Islam Makhachev scrapping against Arman Tsarukyan in what can be Makhachev’s record fourth title defense at 155lbs.

Umar, Khabib’s cousin will fight on the co-main event, while Makhachev, ‘The Eagle’s protege and childhood friend will headline the Inglewood, California event. And both fights are pretty tough matchups. After all, both Tsarukyan and Dvalishvili are world-class wrestlers. This means that Khabib will have to corner two fights back to back against tough opponents.

Needless to say, it would be very stressful for ‘The Eagle’, who will undoubtedly be shouting instructions to his fighters throughout the entirety of the fight. Not to mention the helplessness that Khabib might feel if one of his fighters makes a mistake- not being able to do anything but hope they listen to him. What do you think about Chael Sonnen’s take on Khabib Nurmagomedov not liking coaching?