"This is what I don't like" - Khabib Nurmagomedov voices concern over MMA promotions cutting fighters for not trash-talking 

Khabib Nurmagomedov recently shared his thoughts on MMA promotions, like the UFC, cutting talented fighters for not trash-talking or being entertaining enough.

Nurmagomedov is undoubtedly among the biggest names in mixed martial arts and is widely considered to be one of the greatest fighters ever. The former UFC lightweight champion transitioned to coaching after announcing his retirement in October 2020 and has high-profile fighters like Islam Makhachev, Umar Nurmagomedov, and Usman Nurmagomedov under his tutelage.

In a recent interview with football legend Rio Ferdinand at the World Sports Summit, Nurmagomedov was asked about how Dagestani fighters could shape the future of MMA given their immense success over the past decade.

'The Eagle' voiced his concern about fighters not being given a fair shot in the sport due to them being unable or unwilling to trash-talk their opponents and said:

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"I feel very bad for U.S. promotions, very, very bad because there are so many hungry fighters coming, and they don’t like to talk, they don’t like trash talk. They just come, smash people, and take money and U.S. promotions; they don’t like this. They like trash talking, they like entertainment. I understand. In one way, it’s business. But at the end of the day, this is a sport. It’s a sport. One-on-one, you go alone inside of cage, and we’ll see who is the best in the world."

He added:

"At the end of the day, as I said, this is sport. It has to be fair and even in the last couple of years, we saw so many fighters cut. They cut so many fighters who don’t even lose in the UFC. They just finish the contract; they don’t give them a new contract. Honestly, somebody has to talk about this, and I think this is not fair. This is what I don’t like."

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Khabib Nurmagomedov reflects on retirement decision after taking up coaching role

In the same interview, Khabib Nurmagomedov got honest about his decision to retire from professional fighting and outlined how coaching fulfils his yearning for competition.

Speaking to Rio Ferdinand (via @RedCorner_MMA on X), the former UFC lightweight king said:

"When I retired, I never thought of coming back. It was a very clear decision. Of course, sometimes I want to compete with high-level guys, but in my gym I have the best fighters in the world. When I miss some competition, I go to the gym and find not only the best guys in the division, I can find the best pound-for-pound guys in the world."

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Edited by Nishant Zende.