Khabib Nurmagomedov announces the end of his career in the Emirates

In the UFC 254 in Abu Dhabi, capital of the United Arab Emirates, the star fight of the night was Justin Gaethje against Khabib Nurmagomedov, who was defending the lightweight title. In just under two rounds Nurmagomedov made the victory his own, retaining the championship belt after subduing the American by submission. "The Eagle" won after performing a triangular strangle shortly before the end of the second round, which nearly knocked Gaethje unconscious.  

After the victory and visibly moved, Khabib knelt in the centre of the octagon, without avoiding bursting into tears when he dedicated the victory to his father, teacher and mentor of the wrestler, Abdulmanap Nurmagomédov who died last July from coronavirus.

With his thirteenth consecutive UFC win, no one expected what the Russian wrestler was about to announce: "I promised my mother this is going to be my last fight. No way I’m going to come here without my father. Today is my last fight here in UFC. It was my father’s dream. 'I know only one thing I want from UFC, you guys have to be me on No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the world, because I deserve this," said Khabib. Nurmagomedov has given his word something that is very important to his people, the Dagestanians. 

The messages of support for the Russian fighter did not take long to arrive. From the always controversial Connor McGregor: "Good performance. I will carry on. Respect and condolences on your father again also. To you and family. Yours sincerely, The McGregors."  . Cristiano Ronaldo also wanted to join in and dedicate some words of affection to his friend, the Portuguese star published in his Instagram account: "Congratulations my brother. Your father is proud of you". Through the same social network Karim Benzema wanted to make clear in a post that for the French Khabib is "The G.O.A.T" (Greatest of all Times), "The best of all times".

Even the current president of the UFC Dana White praised Nurmagomedov: "Congratulations Khabib you achieved everything you set out to do. You are the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world. You really are the best ever. “Congrats to the [greatest of all time] on a great win and a great career! It was a privilege to watch you compete. Respect!”, wrote boxer Manny Pacquiao on his Twitter account. 

In this way, Khabib Nurmagomedov put the finishing touch to a dream career. He left his gloves in the middle of the octagon, as a symbol of the conclusion of his career. After twelve years in office and a record of 29-0 wins (11 by submission, 8 by knockout and 10 by decision after count), Khabib left Yas Island in Abu Dhabi to become a legend.