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Khabib Nurmagomedov will face his stiffest challenge till date when he takes on Tony Ferguson at UFC 249 in April next year. However, despite being in his prime, speculation regarding his retirement has always been rife in the world of MMA.
The Eagle was recently involved in a Q&A session in Russia and he opened up about his retirement plans.
Nurmagomedov stated that while he may be far from retirement age at the moment, the day that he will be forced to roll down the curtains on his career may not be too far away.
The reigning UFC Lightweight Champion also believes that he needs to be well-prepared for his fight against Tony Ferguson.
He also added that there will always be a reason to fight, which most often is the money, but will he be motivated to step inside the Octagon once he is financially secure? That is something that Nurmagomedov admits he would have to think about.
“Well, we don’t have a plan for when we’re going to finish but I do know it is not over the mountains, as they say. That time is very close. I don’t want to think about the future, I still have to live to April, I still have to fight, I need to win. So, I don’t like to look too far ahead. Now we have an opponent, Tony Ferguson, a very serious opponent. And I think it’s necessary to have this fight then we’ll sit down and think about what’s next.
We’ll consider whether there’s any point in fighting any more. There will always be a reason to fight: money. But will we need it? We’ll think about it. I feel good now. I’m 31 and it’s a very good age to fight, and for sport. I’m far from retirement age, but it’s around the corner.” H/t Credit: RT Sport
The undefeated Russian will battle Ferguson at UFC 249 in a fight that has been nixed five times before.
Ferguson has not lost in his last twelve fights and is being hyped as the man who possesses all the tools to end the astounding run of the Russian.
