Khabib Nurmagomedov's son asked him hilarious question about Islam Makhachev following shock UFC retirement

03/31/2025 06:01 AM

Khabib Nurmagomedov’s son wasn’t aware of his father’s incredible career in the UFC as he was only three years old when the dominant Russian retired.

During his reign over the UFC lightweight division, Khabib Nurmagomedov was widely regarded as the most dominant champion in the promotion’s history.

Emphatic wins over the likes of Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier also firmly placed him in the conversation as the greatest lightweight fighter of all time.

Despite his sheer dominance in the sport, ‘The Eagle’ shockingly retired in 2020 after defending his title against Justin Gaethje.

Nurmagomedov’s son asked him hilarious question following retirement

Since his retirement from competing in the sport, Khabib has carried on the legacy of his late father, Abdulmanap’s gym, becoming one of the best coaches in the sport.

The 36-year-old is the head coach of the current UFC lightweight champion, Islam Makhachev, as well as Bellator lightweight king, Usman Nurmagomedov, and his brother, Umar Nurmagomedov.

One of Khabib’s main reasons for retiring from the sport was that he promised his mother that he wouldn’t continue fighting without his father and because he had not long started a family of his own.

When he announced his shock UFC retirement, his son was only three years old, and with that, he wasn’t very aware of his father’s career in the UFC. Immediately after his retirement, Makhachev began his dominance in the division.

Nurmagomedov has since revealed a hilarious question that his son asked him regarding Makhachev.

“When I retired, he was only three years old, and he didn’t understand anything. (Years after my retirement) he asked me, ‘Father, can you fight like Islam Makhachev?’ and I’m like, ‘Why you ask that?’,” Khabib revealed during a Q&A.

“He said, ‘Because he’s a very good fighter and I never see you fight like him.’ I’m like, ‘Okay, this is a very good question.'” Khabib continued.

Despite coming from a family full of fighters, Khabib doesn’t want his son to grow up to become a professional athlete.

“Personally, like me, I don’t want him to become a professional athlete, but if he chooses to, what can I do? Honestly, I don’t want (him to), I just want him to become a normal human, professional athletes are not normal people,” he stated.

Khabib Nurmagomedov predicted how UFC career would end

Although ‘The Eagle’s’ UFC retirement came as a massive shock to the large majority of fans, considering he was still in his prime, the Russian actually had it planned for years.

Seven years before he retired, Khabib admitted that he would likely retire whilst he was undefeated because the sport ‘has no end’.

Since his retirement, he has been vocal regarding other fighters retiring at the right time, even prompting his former rival Poirier to retire.