The ‘Champions League’ of mixed martial arts, that is, the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), has become a very lucrative business for those athletes who manage to stand out from the rest. It is no secret that fighters like Conor McGregor have managed to earn a million-dollar loot and live the lives they once dreamed of, surrounded by yachts, mansions and luxury vehicles. But there are others who, despite having the opportunity to continue amassing a fortune, preferred to step aside, prioritizing other facets of their lives.
The greatest example of this context is Khabib Nurmagomedov, the Russian fighter who won the UFC lightweight belt and defended it three times against Conor McGregor, Dustin Poirier and Justin Gaethje. For The Eagle, as he was nicknamed, everything went wrong when his father and mentor, Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov, died from the consequences of Covid-19 during the pandemic. It was then that he decided, despite being undefeated and having a lot of legacy to build and a lot of money to earn, that his career had come to an end, that it made no sense to continue without his father present. And he promised his mother that the fight against Gaethje would be his last. That’s how it was.
Since that happened, the UFC, personified by its president, Dana White, tempted him on several occasions to return to do some last dance. But not all the money in the world was enough to break that promise. I wouldn’t go back for any price. In fact, the boss of the UFC He even offered him 100 million dollars to return to the cage, but the decision was firm. And their values too.
«Where I’m from, Dagestan, we don’t need much. Dana was asking me ‘bro, why didn’t you ever ask me how much I was going to pay you to come back?’ It doesn’t matter if you want 100 million dollars, I don’t care, you know why? Because I am from Dagestan and we are traditional,” Khabib said on one occasion. «In Russia, people are happy with little things, people do not earn 5,000 or 10,000 dollars a month»he assured.
And the Russian champion, who had already amassed enough money, always wanted to leave his mark in another way, as he himself stated. «Talking to our mothers is everything for us, I don’t want to play political games, I just want to help people, inspire people, spend time with my family, with my mother, with my children and just be a good person. “That’s my goal,” Khabib said.
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