“Be happy and drink Pepsi” Khabib Nurmagomedov dishes on the naysers about his WEIGHT GAIN
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Khabib Nurmagomedov
Khabib Nurmagomedov is without question the greatest lightweight combat athlete we have ever seen. There is a multiplicity of arguments that can be given to his benefit for the proposition being made. Perhaps, the greatest argument will rest at him being undefeated in his whole career, retiring at 29-0.
If Khabib were to still be fighting to this day, maybe, we would not have so many questions over who the undisputed GOAT of MMA is. Many people make the category, but the fact that he retired at just 32 speaks to great effect the fact that having hung up his gloves when he was just hitting his prime did not change his legacy.
The reason for retiring so early by Khabib Nurmagomedov is quite concise, to be fair. His father, Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov ran an academy of fighters, and Khabib is the greatest export from not only that particular gym but also Russia. Fighting without his father (who passed away in 2020) was meaningless for the Dagestan native, and since, he has not looked back on the bold decision.
“It was one of the hardest things in my life to stay away from food” Khabib Nurmagomedov details the hardships of life as an active fighter
Khabib Nurmagomedov’s last fight was against Justin Gaethje, where he defended the lightweight belt for the third and last time in his highly illustrious career. He won the vacant title against New Yorker Al Iaquinta, where he utterly outclassed and dominated him to earn a decision victory. Notably, two judges had it pegged at 50-43 for Khabib.
His next two title defences, against Dustin Poirier and Justin Gaethje came in similar fashion – he controlled them both before finishing them off via submission, albeit, Gaethje’s loss was more pronounced.
Training hard ever since he was a child, to hold the crown that he held, Khabib Nurmagomedov gave up a lot of life’s pleasures. According to Bloody Elbow, in a recent interview at a charity event, he highlighted, “It was one of the hardest things in my life to stay away from food, even now. It was hard because for 15 years I was on a diet, maybe more. When food comes on the table, sometimes you want to enjoy it. I have to train every day for five hours to get back to 86 kilo, or I can live a happy life. I’m going to be happy and drink Pepsi.”
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Many fans, fighters and experts have commented on his weight gain, since retiring, to the point where Daniel Cormier lovingly calls him ‘a light heavyweight’. None of that seems to bother Khabib, as he said, “I weigh 205lb now, maybe 204lb in the morning if I don’t have dessert the night before. When I was an active fighter, I was around 190lb and I cut weight to 155lb. I finished my career, I gained about five kilos, but I can’t do anything with this.”
If anyone, it’s Khabib who deserves whatever luxury of life he chooses to enjoy. Although it looks as if we have seen him walk away for good, who knows, maybe his protégé Islam Makachev losing to Charles Oliveira could bring him back to the octagon.
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Udayan Mukherjee
(382 Articles Published)