Michael Bisping extended congratulations to Khabib Nurmagomedov after he confirmed his intention to step away from MMA entirely.
The former UFC lightweight champion retired as an active fighter with an unbeaten 29-0 record in 2020, and now as a successful coach.
Bisping uploaded a video to his YouTube channel, where he discussed Nurmagomedov’s decision and complimented him for the impact he has had on the sport. He mentioned that ‘The Eagle’ did a lot for Dagestan and Dagestani fighters, saying:
“The way he {Khabib Nurmagomedov} was taking those people out, especially {Justin} Gaethje and {Dustin} Poirier, I mean, unbelievable. Just a wrecking-ball of technique and power and confidence. Khabib was so confident and he put Dagestan on the map. Of course, now there’s like a big influx of Dagestan fighters.” {7:40 – 7:57}
The former UFC middleweight champion also brought up that throughout his career, Nurmagomedov made a strong case for being the greatest lightweight of all-time. He mentioned that coaching requires a full-time commitment and commended the UFC Hall of Famer for choosing to spend more time with his family, saying:
“They {fighters} depend on you. They look to you for leadership, for guidance, for mentorship, for techniques, for training, strength…whatever you call it. It’s all on the coach, so you’ve gotta be all in and he was. But clearly, it’s taken far too much of his time and he’s walking away from the sport.” {6:26 – 6:42}
It remains to be seen how long the 34-year-old intends to stay away from the sport. Perhaps he will return in the future, but for now, it’s understandable why he would rather step back from coaching and spend more time with his family.
Check out the full video:
Khabib Nurmagomedov’s proteges are lightweight champions in their respective promotions
Khabib Nurmagomedov did an excellent job as a coach following his retirement as an active fighter.
Last year, two of his top proteges won the lightweight championship in their respective promotions. First, Islam Makhachev submitted Charles Oliveira at UFC 280 to win the vacant lightweight championship. It was an impressive performance, especially considering Oliveira came off three straight finishes over Michael Chandler, Dustin Poirier and Justin Gaethje.
‘The Eagle’s success as a championship coach carried over to Bellator as his cousin, Usman defeated Patricky ‘Pitbull’ Freire via unanimous decision at Bellator 288 to become the new lightweight champion. He is a well-rounded fighter and is also unbeaten with a 16-0 MMA record.
