“What else? Only money. Only money fights. But I don’t need money fights.” That’s Khabib Nurmagomedov shutting down any talk of a comeback. And here we were, thinking money was the ultimate motivator in combat sports. Guess not. Turns out, for some fighters, it’s legacy. And more importantly, family, trumps any amount of cash. But what if you were told that this legacy almost came undone in his final fight? That behind ‘The Eagle’s seemingly flawless farewell, there was a battle raging behind the scenes. One that had nothing to do with his opponent, Justin Gaethje?
Javier Mendez, the undefeated champ’s longtime coach, just pulled back the curtain on one of the UFC’s best-kept secrets. And let’s just say, it changes everything. “His toe. He breaks his toe. I wanted him to quit before that because he was sick,” Mendez revealed on the Javier and Mo Show. Wait, so it wasn’t just the injury? Nope. The then Dagestani champ was already struggling through what Mendez called “the worst camp ever.” “He was sick and everything. The worst camp. It wasn’t just the toe. That wasn’t the big thing.”
Imagine this. A fighter, two and a half weeks out from the biggest fight of his career, snaps his toe. What does he do? Most would call it quits. Not Khabib. Mendez practically begged him to pull out. “No, no, no, coach, please, please, no, no, let me sew.” And sew he did (figuratively speaking). The man strapped on a shoe and kept training. “His stand-up got so, so, so good,” Mendez recalled. And then came the moment that changed everything. “Coach, my toe may be broken, but my mental is not,” Khabib said, putting all inhibitions to rest. That was it. Mendez clapped his hands and knew, they were winning that fight no matter what.
The AKA head coach also revealed how the former champion trained with one shoe to protect the injured toe. In fact, the stand-up he saw in the sparring sessions before the UFC 254 bout was the best he had seen from Khabib.
Fast forward to UFC 254. No one knew what the Dagestani had been through. All we saw was a dominant fighter submitting ‘The Highlight’ in the second round. No hesitation. No sign of struggle. But behind the scenes? His team had been practically begging him to step away. But quitting? That wasn’t in this kingpin’s DNA. Not yet, at least. Because behind that unbreakable mental strength was someone who had nurtured it from the very start.
Did Khabib Nurmagomedov’s promise shape his legacy?
Fighting was never just about belts for Khabib Nurmagomedov. It was about family. And when his father, Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov, passed away in 2020, his promise to his mother was all there was. It became his guiding, grounding principle. “Because I finish my career, because I promise mother, that’s why this one question, discussion between me and my mother became very famous,” Khabib shared at a Class A Events talk in Toronto almost three years ago. But it wasn’t just about retiring. “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. For me, it’s everything.”
Now, we all know he is a man of discipline. But this takes it to another level. While many fighters chase belts, fame, and fortune, Khabib walked away at his peak. Why? Because family meant more. “Even now, she is still with me, like living with me in the same house. I treat her like a queen,” he said. So, think about it. How many fighters get to leave the sport undefeated?
How many actually have the strength to step away when they’re still on top? Could ‘The Eagle’ have stayed? Of course. Would he have shattered more records? No doubt. But at what cost? Hence, when Khabib Nurmagomedov walked out of that cage for the last time, it wasn’t because he couldn’t fight anymore. It was because he had already won the biggest battle of all. Keeping his promise. And honestly? That might just be his greatest victory, don’t you think? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
The post “I Wanted Him to Quit” — Khabib’s Painful Ordeal Almost Ruined UFC Legend’s Promise to Mother, Coach Reveals appeared first on EssentiallySports.
