Khabib Nurmagomedov has revealed that a string of injuries in 2014 almost resulted in him retiring prematurely.
As we know, Khabib Nurmagomedov is widely considered to be one of the greatest of all time. He has achieved some remarkable things in mixed martial arts, retiring with an undefeated record. He was the king of the lightweight division, knocking back names like Conor McGregor, Dustin Poirier and Justin Gaethje.
He retired back in 2020 and rode off into the sunset. However, it turns out that his departure from the sport could’ve come a whole lot sooner than that.
In a recent interview, Khabib opened up on some of his injury struggles from a decade ago.
Khabib Nurmagomedov opens up
“It was hardest time in my career, like professional career, because I remember when I dominated Rafael dos Anjos (and) after that I broke my leg. I had ACL surgery,” Nurmagomedov said on the “Inspire Me Podcast.” “After that, dos Anjos became champion, and I tried to come back. I tore one more time ACL and one more surgery. I tried to come back. I broke my ribs.
“After that I tried to comeback. I had surgery on my back. It was a very hard time, and I remember I was talking with my father, ‘Maybe this is a signal from God you have to stop.’ He told me, ‘You cannot give up. When you have some test you have to show your toughness if you’re tough. If you’re not tough you just can give up, and that’s it.’”
How different would the landscape of mixed martial arts be today if Khabib Nurmagomedov had been forced to retire? It probably would have been very different…