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Khabib Nurmagomedov says he's in his wrestling 'prime' six years after abrupt UFC retirement

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Khabib Nurmagomedov says he's in his wrestling 'prime' six years after abrupt UFC retirement

UFC Hall of Famer Khabib Nurmagomedov says he's wrestling better now than at any time in his legendary fighting career.

Khabib Nurmagomedov remains one of the few UFC greats to leave Mixed Martial Arts at the top of the sport. After defeating current UFC lightweight champion Justin Gaethje at UFC 254, Nurmagomedov opted to hang up the gloves just months after his father's tragic death.

Six months after his retirement, Nurmagomedov remains a big part of MMA as a coach for fighters such as Islam Makhachev and his cousin, Umar Nurmagomedov. Makhachev, in particular, has repeatedly touted Nurmagomedov's discipline since retiring, as the UFC Hall of Famer remains a constant presence in training.

Known for his elite wrestling inside the Octagon, Nurmagomedov is arguably one of the greatest fighters in UFC history. But Nurmagomedov might be on another level six years since ending his career.

Khabib Nurmagomedov claims he's in his wrestling ‘prime' despite long UFC absence

In a recent appearance on Smol Talk, Nurmagomedov was asked about his wrestling acumen today compared to when he was competing in the UFC, and gave a shocking answer.

“People think my prime was between 2018 and 2020, but I wasn't in my prime back then. I turned 32 in September 2020, and I retired in October,†Nurmagomedov said.

“So I hadn't even really begun yet. My grappling has improved tremendously since then. In 2026, it's much better than it was in 2020. I watch my old fights now and think, ‘How could I have made that mistake here?' Meanwhile, people watching from the outside say, ‘Wow, what a level.'

“But to me, that's not the level. My grappling is far better now. And the guys who trained with me in both 2020 and 2026 say the same thing.â€

Despite numerous attempts by the UFC to lure Nurmagomedov out of retirement, the UFC legend remains steadfast in his decision to walk away.

How would Khabib Nurmagomedov fare against the current top UFC lightweights? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!

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MMA

Jean Silva says he has no memory of brutal Diego Lopes loss

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Jean Silva says he has no memory of brutal Diego Lopes loss
For Jean
Silva, his recent fight against Jose
Delgado was his maiden main event in the
Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Silva (18-3) headlined
Noche UFC 4 against Delgado (12-3) on Sept. 12 at Desert
Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona. The Brazilian survived an early
knockdown and turned the tide in the second round before making
Delgado tap to a rear-naked choke in the third frame.

While this was Silva's second UFC headliner, he considers it his
first.

Jean Silva explains why his UFC loss to Diego Lopes made the
Jose Delgado win so meaningful

Silva took on Diego Lopes
at
Noche UFC 3 last year. While Lopes dominated the first round,
Silva gained momentum in the second round, landing serious damage
on his opponent. Lopes later dropped Silva with a sneaky spinning
back elbow before landing heavy ground-and-pound to secure the
finish.

Silva considers the win over Delgado his first UFC main event as he
claims to have no recollection of his loss to Lopes. “Lord†admits
that the defeat took something away from him, including the
memories from the fight.

“I pulled my [team] aside in a corner before the fight tonight and
told them, ‘I don't have any memories of what happened at Noche UFC
last year.' It did take something away from me,†Silva said at the
post-fight presser. “I wanted it said because I wanted to have the
memory of my first main event and I do not have any of that. I know
the history books are going to say this is my second main event,
but to me it was the first. So, I'm very happy that tonight I was
able to make good memories and I will remember them forever.â€

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UFC champ Joshua Van explains why he wants to ‘pick’ Alexander Volkanovski’s brain

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UFC champ Joshua Van explains why he wants to ‘pick’ Alexander Volkanovski’s brain
Joshua
Van wanted to pick Alexander
Volkanovski's brain when they met.

Van met fellow
Ultimate Fighting Championship titleholder Volkanovski and
watched him train briefly in Washington, D.C., this past June.
Volkanovski recently praised the flyweight champion's hunger to
learn from him, while Van is grateful for the knowledge the
featherweight champion had to offer.

Joshua Van details what he learned from Alexander Volkanovski
ahead of UFC 331

Van lauded Volkanovski's intelligence, which was evident watching
“The Great†train. The former was also eager to learn from
Volkanovski as they have a similar build. Van respects the
Australian's elite technique and lack of recklessness.

“That guy is a very smart man; I learned so many things from him,â€
Van told MMA Junkie. “Just to be around, not even that long, but
like I was in the same room and learned so much just from watching
him train. Especially Volkanovski, we kind of have the same body
type and things like that. He's a smart fighter; he's not
aggressive, he's technical. So, I want to pick his brain and things
like that. I want to learn as much as I can from guys like that…
Wherever he wants to train, you know I'll be there. That's
Volkanovski we're talking about. He's one of the greats for
sure.â€

Van (17-2) is scheduled to defend his flyweight title in a rematch
against Alexandre
Pantoja (30-6) at UFC
331 on Sept. 19 at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. Meanwhile,
Volkanovski (28-4) is set to defend his featherweight title against
Movsar
Evloev (20-0) at
UFC 333 on Oct. 24 at Etihad Arena on Yas Island, Abu
Dhabi.

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Tommy McMillen says UFC rival was pleading for respect after war

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Tommy McMillen says UFC rival was 'pleading for respect' after war
Tommy
McMillen didn't take his feud with Marwan
Rahiki personally.

McMillen (12-0) and Rahiki (9-0) appeared to have serious bad blood
heading into their recent clash in the
Ultimate Fighting Championship. The featherweight prospects
delivered a barnburner, going toe-to-toe in a back-and-forth
three-round bout to earn Fight of the Night honors. McMillen, who
won via unanimous decision at
Noche UFC 4, discussed the dynamic between the two after the
fight.

Tommy McMillen describes his post-fight exchange with Marwan
Rahiki at Noche UFC 4

Despite the heated build-up to the bout, Rahiki had nothing but
respect in the immediate aftermath of his first professional loss.
He and McMillen seemingly buried the hatchet after the fight as
they bumped fists and exchanged a few words.

McMillen claims Rahiki looked like he was pleading for a show of
mutual respect. “Gun†obliged, considering it was an exciting
fight. McMillen also explains that even though he beefs with his
opponents in the lead-up to his fights, he takes none of it
seriously.

“He was kind of looking at me, pleading for respect,†McMillen told
Full Send MMA. “I was just like, alright, like that was a pretty
cool fight… F*ck outta here, dude. Cause at the end of the day,
even though I'm talking sh*t to these guys, if you go watch back,
I'm smiling all the time. I'm a gangster, down to fight anybody.
It's all fun and games to me.â€

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