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Khabib Nurmagomedov is widely considered to be one of the greatest mixed martial artists of all time. 'The Eagle' retired with a perfect 29-0 record that included 19 finishes and 13 wins in the UFC. The UFC Hall of Famer recently drew praise from former United States President Donald Trump.
Speaking with Jim Norton and Matt Serra in an exclusive interview for UFC Unfiltered, Trump stated:
"I think Khabib was great and it looks like he probably doesn't come back, but I asked [UFC President] Dana [White] last night, 'where is Khabib? Are you going to get him to come back?', but I thought he was a seriously good fighter."
When Norton pointed out that Nurmagomedov promised his mother that he would never fight again, Trump interjected, adding:
"Well when his father died, he had something, but I thought he was a fantastic fighter."
Check out Donald Trump's comments on Khabib Nurmagomedov below:
While many felt that Nurmagomedov retired prematurely, as he walked away in the midst of his prime with just three title defenses, his dominance earned him induction into the UFC Hall of Fame in 2022. He remained involved in mixed martial arts as he coached and cornered several fighters, most notably reigning lightweight champion Islam Makhachev.
'The Eagle' retired from coaching earlier this year. Daniel Cormier, however, recently reported that he is back at American Kickboxing Academy. Nurmagomedov also serves as the owner of the Eagle Fighting Championship promotion.
Justin Gaethje plans to avenge UFC 254 lightweight title loss against Khabib Nurmagomedov
Khabib Nurmagomedov retired from mixed martial arts after defeating Justin Gaethje via a second-round triangle choke submission at UFC 254.
While 'The Highlight' will not have the opportunity to avenge the loss against 'The Eagle', he recently shared that he plans to do so against his prodigy Islam Makhachev. Speaking to TMZ Sports ahead of his UFC 291 'BMF' title fight against Dustin Poirier, the No.3-ranked lightweight was asked if he would like to face Makhachev for the title.
He responded, stating:
"Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. I mean, this will be two opportunities to kind of get my losses back. Khabib beat me. Islam is kind of his prodigy so, I can kind of get that fight back a little bit. You know [Makhachev] beat Oliveira. So, I can certainly get a two-for-one deal on that one."
Check out Justin Gaethje's comments on avenging his loss to Khabib Nurmagomedov below (starting at the 1:40 mark):
Gaethje will have to defeat Poirier at UFC 291 in order to earn a title opportunity. Meanwhile, Makhachev will look to retain the belt when he faces Charles Oliveira at UFC 294. If both fighters are successful, they could be on a collision course.
