Khabib Nurmagomedov isn’t returning to fight anybody much less coming out of retirement to face Jake Paul in his mixed martial arts debut.
After defeating Justin Gaethje, the former UFC lightweight champion decided to end his career. Since then, he has been solely focused on building Eagle FC’s promotion. Nurmagomedov recently mentioned that he was interested in working alongside Jake Paul as part of his efforts to grow the brand’s popularity. He even reached out to one of his representatives.
While Paul countered by saying he never heard from anybody connected to Nurmagomedov or his promotion, the 25-year-old undefeated boxer admitted he would consider a crossover into mixed martial arts — as long as the undefeated Russian would face him as an opponent.
“If he wants to fight in MMA — because he never fights in MMA — he doesn’t have experience but we can give him a chance,” Nurmagomedov told the Full Send Podcast when asked about Paul. “We can sign him.
“[A fight] With me? Come on. Jake Paul. It’s not my opinion. In MMA, [he would last] a couple minutes.”
As much as he laughed off the idea that Paul could actually challenge him in a fight, Nurmagomedov added that whether it’s him or anybody else, his competitive days are already behind him.
“He’s late a little bit cause I am finished,” Nurmagomedov said.
If Paul ever gets serious about testing himself in MMA, Nurmagomedov would still be happy to provide him a home but he knows the former social influencer turned combat sports enthusiast still has a lot to learn before he could actually challenge anybody in the cage.
Nurmagomedov is grateful for the boxing skills Paul acquired since he began training, but it’s far from being able to compete with some of the top MMA fighters around the globe.
“I watch his sparring or some video he was doing MMA with someone. Nurmagomedov stated that he needs to continue learning. “On boxing, he knows how to punch. His boxing skills are excellent. Anyone can box. You can’t wrestle. This is totally different.
“I think if he wants, we can give him a chance. He can be signed. We can pay him. We’ll see.”
It might seem strange for Nurmagomedov even to address the possibility of a fight against Paul, considering their vast skills gap. However, these kinds of questions continue to surround the ex-UFC champion long after he has retired.
He can rarely avoid the conversation about a comeback but Nurmagomedov promises he’s done with fighting and Eagle FC has taken his full attention.
” There are many challenges even now. Like Charles Oliveira, he is very good, too,” Nurmagomedov said. “There is always going to be some champions with me or without me. But who cares? I am finished now.
“I have my own promotion. You guys can challenge me and I will give them a great platform. Come and join with me in Eagle FC and I’m going to find you guys a good opponent and let’s go.”
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