29-0 it is.
He is officially retired. It was incredible to watch you work
@TeamKhabib
thank you for EVERYTHING and enjoy whatever is next my friend.
pic.twitter.com/QeoSP12zw2— danawhite (@danawhite)
March 19, 2021
Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream the UFC live on
your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the
ESPN app. Editor’s note: The article has been updated at 1 a.m.
ET on March 19 to add a statement from the former champion.
The Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight
division formally has no champion any longer.
UFC President Dana White announced on social
media that he was officially giving up the chase to keep
Khabib
Nurmagomedov (29-0) active on the roster. The lightweight king
announced his retirement after his victory at 254 over Justin
Gaethje, with it being his final bout after his father’s
passing in 2020. The UFC head persisted to change Nurmagomedov’s
mind, but the Dagestani champ would not budge.
“29-0 it is,” White wrote. “He is [100 percent] officially retired.
It was incredible to watch you work [Khabib
Nurmagomedov] thank you for EVERYTHING and enjoy whatever is
next my friend.”
Nurmagomedov called it a career with the greatest undefeated record
in MMA history. Although other fighters throughout the sport
amassed similarly impressive unbeaten records on their way up, like
John
Strawn (29-0), Julio
Cesar Neves Jr. (30-0) and Luis
Rafael Laurentino (31-0), each man suffered losses after
reaching those tallies. “The Eagle,” should he stay retired and not
come back, would likely hold this top spot for quite some time.
Only Khusein
Askhabov (23-0) and Yaroslav
Amosov (25-0) currently sport unbeaten records of at least 20
victories without a defeat on a noteworthy stage.
“The Eagle” will go down in company history as one of the greatest
to do it, with victories in each of his 13 UFC appearances. Only
Anderson
Silva has notched more consecutive wins with the Las
Vegas-based promotion. Defeating the likes of Gleison
Tibau, Rafael dos
Anjos, Michael
Johnson and Edson
Barboza on his way up, Nurmagomedov challenged and defeated
Al
Iaquinta for the vacant lightweight throne at UFC 223 in 2018.
From there, he defended it three times, a UFC lightweight record,
against Conor
McGregor, Dustin
Poirier and Gaethje. The champ submitted all three, in the
fourth, third and second rounds, respectively.
The promotion has already determined its next two challengers for
the vacant 155-pound championship, in a battle that will be waged
atop UFC 262
in May.
On his Instagram shortly
after White made his statement, Nurmagomedov responded with
gratitude to his former employer.
“It was a good dinner with some great people,” Nurmagomedov wrote.
“Dana White thank you so much brother and the entire UFC team for
the opportunity prove myself, you guys have changed many [lives]
forever because of this sport.
“Dana – I’ll never forget your attitude towards me, my father did
not forget and my sons will remember you. Today there was a real
conversation between men.
“Also thank you to all [teams], [sparring] partners and all fans. I
hope you will accept my decision and understand me.”
