‘Mother, For Me, Is Everything’

The retired former Lightweight champion opens up on his relationship with his mother and the key role she plays in his life and decisions.

Khabib Nurmagomedov is never returning to active mixed martial arts (MMA) competition.

UFC’s former Lightweight champion and controversial G.O.A.T. candidate has made that abundantly clear since he retired from the sport under his mother’s advice back in Oct. 2020 (watch it). Since then, he’s also admitted that his fire for the sport has diminished, but when push comes to shove, he can always fall back on the promise to his mother. No one is going to pressure him too much when he is respecting the wishes of the family matriarch, right?

During an hour-long conversation at a Class A Event in Toronto, Canada, the retirement vow to his mother came up once again.

“Because of I finish my career, because I promise mother, that’s why this one question, discussion between me and my mother become very famous,” Nurmagomedov said (via MMA Junkie). “But we had a lot of different things people don’t know about this. Not only this promise. I follow not only this promise to my mother. I follow everything about mother. You can have friends or kids, whatever. You can have whatever you want, but you’re never going to have one more mother.

“You have only one mother,” he added. “For me, it’s everything. For me, it’s everything.”

“I love mother because of millions and millions of reason,” Nurmagomedov continued. “I know even in Dagestan, this is not about Dagestan, but I know a lot of people have bad relationship with parents. I really, really don’t understand this. How can people have bad relationship with parents? Yes, mother, for me is everything. Even now, she is still with me, like living with me in same house. I treat her like queen.”

And mother helps Khabib … by deflecting all the endless hopes and dreams of fans who wish Nurmagomedov would return for one more fight. Just to improve that 29-0 to a nice round 30-0! Just to silence that “McTapper” McChicken” dope Conor McGregor again. Just to cement his place as the greatest of all time! And don’t imagine it’s just random fans bugging Khabib about this. We have no doubt that Nurmagomedov gets pushed by leaders of countries, heads of states, and literal royalty on a weekly basis.

“I just don’t feel like it,” doesn’t quite cut it with people like that. But, “I made a holy vow to my mother,” … well, that carries a lot more weight. So, who’s helping who in this situation? We think Khabib’s mother may have given him the best gift a mother can grant: she freed him from the sport of MMA so he could truly soar like an eagle.