Former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) lightweight titleholder Khabib Nurmagomedov is officially retired from mixed martial arts (MMA), walking away from his 155-pound post with a 29-0 record and a claim to being one of the greatest of all time.
So what’s next for the 32 year-old “Eagle?”
This World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) superstar wants Nurmagomedov to transition to professional wrestling, though longtime manager Ali Abdelaziz believes the Dagestani grappler would annihilate the competition inside the ring — including John Cena.
“Let’s be real, if any of these soft steroid freaks want to go ahead and have a wrestling match with Khabib and they wanna get beat up for real, they know who they need to call,” Abdelaziz told TMZ Sports (transcribed by Tim Daniels). “He’ll go there and he’ll smash John Cena’s face. After he’s done with them, they’re never gonna wrestle again.”
Former UFC champions Brock Lesnar and Ronda Rousey remained in the spotlight by transitioning to WWE after finishing up their careers inside the Octagon, but based on this conversation from 2018, it sounds like Nurmagomedov prefers real fighting over fake.
Then again, a match with this rival may be too good to pass up.
With “The Eagle” flying away for good, the promotion will crown a new lightweight champion in the upcoming UFC 262 pay-per-view (PPV) main event, where top contenders Charles Oliveira and Michael Chandler collide for the vacant 155-pound strap.
For much more on that upcoming headliner click here.