Khabib Nurmagomedov's Interview Two Weeks Before UFC Retirement Goes Viral

Two weeks before his fight against Justin Gaethje at UFC 254, Khabib Nurmagomedov hinted at retirement in one of his most emotional interviews ever.

The undefeated Russian defeated Gaethje in the second round of Saturday night's main event in Abu Dhabi, clinching victory with a triangle choke from a full mount in the second round.

It was another masterclass from Khabib, but nobody expected a retirement speech following the fight.

Speaking to Jon Anik inside the Octagon, he said: "Today I want to say this is my last fight.

"No way am I coming here without my father. When UFC comes to me about Justin [Gaethje] I spoke with my mother for three days."

Khabib's decision to retire from MMA stunned the world, with many (including Conor McGregor) paying tribute to the 29-0 fighter on social media.

And although it came as a big surprise, an interview with ESPN from two weeks ago now hits home differently. The hints were there for all to see.

"I am eagle, I want to fly," Khabib said earlier this month.

"When my time comes I'm gonna die. But before my time comes I want to fly. I want to be free. I want to do whatever I want. I want to spend time with my family, my friends, with my people. I want to live in my village."

"I don't want to put crazy goal in front of me. Soon, very soon I think, my career is going to finish. And I'm going to begin my new life without all this interview, without all this media stuff, weight cutting, hard training, focusing.

"I'm going to be getting a new life. And for life, I don't need too much. Even if you're a billionaire, you never eat more than one bread in one day.

"I want to be free, I want to fly, and I want to do whatever I want."

Following his retirement from the sport, it is believed Nurmagomedov will move into coaching after calling time on his career.

"We have a lot of young generation guys to coach," Khabib said in a video with his coach Javier Mendez of AKA (American Kickboxing Academy) following his final victory.

"We are going to come back on the top very soon. I'm going to help you. I always help you - how many years I help you coach?!"

It feels like the natural step for Khabib. We wish him all the best in his future endeavours.

Topics: Khabib Nurmagomedov, Khabib, Justin Gaethje, UFC News, MMA News, UFC, MMA

Jack Kenmare

Jack Kenmare is a writer at SPORTbible. He's interviewed some of the biggest names in sport, including Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Pele, Carles Puyol and Tim Henman. He dabbles in all things sport but football is his biggest passion. He was once hit in the head by a wayward strike from Nicky Butt and lived to tell the tale.

@jackkenmare_