“Grappling tournament soon”- Ali Abdelaziz alludes to an Eagle FC grappling contest, hints at potential surprise participation from Khabib Nurmagomedov

“Grappling tournament soon”- Ali Abdelaziz alludes to an Eagle FC grappling contest, hints at potential surprise participation from Khabib Nurmagomedov

Ali Abdelaziz- Khabib Nurmagomedov

Looks like we might see Khabib Nurmagomedov back in competition, but just under different conditions as per his manager Ali Abdelaziz. Nurmagomedov, who retired from the sport of MMA by leaving the sport at the top when he defended his UFC Lightweight Championship for the third and last time against Justin Gaethje at UFC 254 in October 2020, decided to turn his primary interests from fight game to the fight business the very next month.

UFC Hall of Famer Khabib Nurmagomedov
UFC Hall of Famer Khabib Nurmagomedov

The primary reason for Nurmagomedov’s retirement was the sad demise of his father and head coach, the late great Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov. In November 2020, Nurmagomedov decided to become a promoter of the sport and therefore brought in Eagle FC. Since then, Eagle FC has held multiple events in Russia, 2 events in Miami, Florida, the USA and has signed a number of UFC legends that include the likes of Junior Dos Santos, Rashad Evans, Diego Sanchez and many other UFC veterans as well.

Ali Abdelaziz tags Eagle FC President Khabib Nurmagomedov along with CEO Rizvan Magomedov in his tweet

Khabib Nurmagomedov and Ali Abdelaziz
Khabib Nurmagomedov and Ali Abdelaziz

In a tweet, Abdelaziz signalled a potential opening of doors by Eagle FC for grappling events in the near future as well. He wrote: “rumors Eagle FC going to have Grappling tournament soon @TeamKhabib @Rizvan_RM [googly eyes emojis] can you imagine if Khabib compete also”

Khabib has retired from the sport of MMA for he has affirmed multiple times in the past that he doesn’t have that motivation anymore that is needed to stay relevant at the top of the sport. But a grappling event would be equivalent to a sparring session in grappling, which Nurmagomedov most probably does every day since he is a coach as well and has to train his fighters including the likes of UFC’s Islam Makhachev, Umar Nurmagomedov and many more.

What do you make of Abdelaziz’s ambiguous revelation of grappling events happening soon in an MMA centric promotion in Eagle FC? Do you think it would work for growing the promotion well? Also, do you think Khabib would participate in a grappling event? Who do you think he should get on the mat against?

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