Former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov has stayed busy since retiring from the professional fight game. Aside from working as a coach for multiple fighters, including top-ranked contender Islam Makhachev, Nurmagomedov is also running Eagle Fighting Championship, an MMA promotion that, up until now, has run primarily out of Russia.
The final event of the year for Eagle FC will be held on December 10. After that, the organization’s 2022 will kick off with an event in January to take place in Miami, FL. Nurmagomedov confirmed that a news conference will be held to announce the date, venue, and competitors.
“The next show for Eagle FC is going to be in Moscow Dec. 10,” said Nurmagomedov in an interview with ESPN.com. “It’s going to be a very big show. We’re going to have three, four big stars we already signed. I don’t want to announce it right now because, on Dec. 15, I’m going to have a big press conference in Miami. I’m going to come to Florida.”
To Be The Best
Nurmagomedov feels that for the promotion to grow, bringing it to the United States is necessary. “If you want to become big in MMA, you have to be in the USA,” Khabib said. “For fighters, for promotions – you have to be in the U.S. If you’re not in the U.S., you can never become number one. It’s almost impossible. It’s my opinion if you want to be best, you have to be in the U.S.”
Over the next year, Khabib and company look to sign a slew of fighters to the promotion, including some who previously fought under UFC and Bellator MMA.
“2022 is going to be a very big year for Eagle FC,” he said. “We’re going to sign more than 50 fighters around the world – young fighters, former UFC and Bellator stars. We’re going to have big shows and some of them are going to be in Miami.”
After a successful title defense at UFC 254 against Justin Gaethje, Nurmagomedov retired from MMA with a 29-0 record, 13-0 in the UFC. Despite multiple attempts by Dana White, Khabib has thus far committed to his retirement and has moved on to the next chapter in his life.
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