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Daniel Cormier has praised his longtime friend and teammate Khabib Nurmagomedov on the first anniversary of the Dagestani's retirement from the sport of MMA.
Former UFC champion Daniel Cormier posted a tweet regarding Khabib Nurmagomedov's retirement and how the Dagestan native could've extended his unbeaten streak much further than he already had. DC's tweet read as follows:
“A year ago today the GOAT walked away from the game undefeated, undisputed champion of the world. Miss these times brother and can’t wait to see you in Abu Dhabi. He could have gone 40-0, 50-0 or whatever he chose, he chose 29. No one was beating this man. @TeamKhabib #weareAKA”
Daniel Cormier, a former Olympic wrestler, is a widely revered wrestling coach. Cormier scaled great heights of success in the MMA realm and has often been credited for helping train Khabib Nurmagomedov. DC’s guidance is believed to have been paramount in helping ‘The Eagle’ adapt his Sambo and wrestling skills to the MMA sphere.
DC’s final MMA fight was a unanimous decision loss in his trilogy bout against then-UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic at UFC 252 on August 15, 2020. Following this, Cormier retired from professional MMA competition. However, he’s still heavily involved in the sport, enjoying a successful career as a prominent MMA analyst and UFC commentator.
Khabib Nurmagomedov’s retirement and the current UFC lightweight landscape
Khabib Nurmagomedov’s last MMA fight was a second-round submission win over Justin Gaethje in their UFC lightweight title unification matchup at UFC 254 on October 24, 2020.
Following the passing of his father and lifelong coach Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov in July 2020, Khabib Nurmagomedov revealed that his mother didn’t want him to continue his fighting career without his father by his side. As a result, he competed just once after his father’s passing – against Gaethje – and then bid adieu to the sport.
Khabib Nurmagomedov (29-0) officially announced his retirement last October. UFC president Dana White and others in the MMA community subsequently tried to convince Nurmagomedov to return but ultimately failed.
‘The Eagle’ and the UFC came to terms with his retirement in March of this year, and the UFC lightweight title was officially declared vacant.
Charles Oliveira captured the vacant belt in a second-round TKO victory over Michael Chandler. He is now set to defend his throne against Dustin Poirier at UFC 269 on December 11.
