Both Khabib Nurmagomedov and Justin Gaethje are managed by Ali Abdelaziz. After Khabib defeated Justin last month, he retired in the octagon, which surprised everyone, including Ali.
Out of respect, Abdelaziz had not said much about the situation yet. However, there has been a lot of talk about how true Khabib’s retirement is. Khabib is still being tested by USADA which you can read about HERE and Dana White also has stated that he’ll return and defend his title, which you can read about HERE.
In an interview with Brett Okamoto of ESPN, Ali Abdelaziz discussed Khabib’s retirement and his thoughts on the situation.
“He didn’t tell anybody.” Ali said.
“I don’t know if he was planning on it or something happened in the moment, but nobody knows. I didn’t know he was going to say that, he surprised all of us.”
Ali later said that he is unsure whether Khabib is truly retired or not, as he is yet to vacate his Lightweight title.
“I don’t know if he is retired to be honest with you, but I’m good with it.” Ali said.
“We will see what happens, I know him and Dana had some conversations, but it’s above my pay grade.”
Ali was then questioned on Khabib’s recent social media posts, where he revealed he was still being tested by USADA.
“He play with us too, why would he post about USADA? He’s clever. He’s a competitor. Four days later he was training.” Ali said.
Conor McGregor is facing Dustin Poirier on January 23rd. Michael Chandler and Tony Ferguson are also in talks to be the co main event. By then, we may have a clear idea of what’s next for the Lightweight Championship.
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