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New York Post
02-06-2025
- Sport
- New York Post
UFC legend Khabib Nurmagomedov causes stir after refusing to shake female sports presenter's hand
UFC legend Khabib Nurmagomedov raised eyebrows over the weekend when he refused to shake hands with CBS Sports broadcaster Kate Scott during UEFA Champions League coverage. Nurmagomedov was among those on hand to watch Paris Saint-Germain trounce Inter Milan to win the UEFA Champions League. It was the first time in the club's history. It also comes in the wake of Neymar, Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi all leaving the club over the last few years. The former UFC fighter, who is Muslim, shook hands with streamer IShowSpeed, Jamie Carragher, Micah Richards and Thierry Henry. As Scott put her hand out, Nurmagomedov kept his hand at his chest. 'I apologize, thank you so much,' Scott said, taking her hand away and putting it toward her chest. It is likely that Nurmagomedov was following his religious beliefs in not shaking hands with Scott. The undefeated UFC fighter is a devout follower of Islam. The religion instructs men not to shake hands with a woman they are not married to. Scott married Malik Scott in 2024. Nurmagomedov was one of the best fighters the UFC has seen in quite a while. He was the first Muslim fighter to win a UFC championship. He retired from the sport following a submission win over Justin Gaethje at UFC 254 in 2020. 4 When Kate Scott put her hand out, Khabib Nurmagomedov kept his hand at his chest. CBS Sports Golazo/X 4 Scott then said, 'I apologize, thank you so much,' as she took her hand away. CBS Sports Golazo/X 4 CBS Sports presenter Kate Scott in February 2025. Getty Images 4 Khabib Nurmagomedov retired from the sport following a submission win over Justin Gaethje at UFC 254 in 2020. Zuffa LLC He was 29-0 in his career. Since his retirement, Nurmagomedov has been in the corner of Islam Makhachev and Umar Nurmagomedov.
USA Today
28-05-2025
- Entertainment
- USA Today
Daniel Cormier, Chael Sonnen discuss Khabib Nurmagomedov retiring 'way too soon'
Daniel Cormier, Chael Sonnen discuss Khabib Nurmagomedov retiring 'way too soon' Show Caption Hide Caption Relive the "The Ultimate Fighter" 20-Year Celebration & Season 33 Q&A A special 20-Year Celebration of The Ultimate Fighter as key figures from show's history sit down for a powerful panel discussion and Season 33 Q&A Two of the UFC's top analysts have thoughts on Khabib Nurmagomedov's retirement as the five-year anniversary approaches later this year. Daniel Cormier and Chael Sonnen, who coached the current Season 33 of "The Ultimate Fighter" opposite each other, had different views on Nurmagomedov retiring as an undefeated UFC lightweight champion. Nurmagomedov (29-0 MMA, 13-0 UFC) hung up his gloves after notching his third lightweight title defense against Justin Gaethje at UFC 254 in October 2020. He made a promise to his mother that he would no longer compete after his father and coach, Abdulmanap, passed away. "Way too soon," Cormier told Bleacher Report on the timing of Nurmagomedov's retirement. "I thought Khabib could have been fighting today, and there's a chance, because I mean, Islam (Makhachev) is a bit of an extension of who he was. But to know them is to know that when his dad passed, it took a lot away from him. And so when he decided I'm going to do something different, mom's like, 'Hey, you and your father started this journey together, I don't want you to do it without him.' If he made that promise, I knew it was over.'' Sonnen, meanwhile, thinks Nurmagomedov could have been lured by the UFC into fighting again, despite UFC CEO Dana White trying hard to make it happen and failing to bring "The Eagle" back. "I will tell you this: When the UFC started to negotiate with Khabib, they started adding zeros and commas and bigger checks, and bigger checks, and Conor (McGregor) Part 2," Sonnen said. "The UFC missed it. That wasn't the number they needed to change. The number they needed to change was a 155-pound weight class to 170 pound weight class. You would have got Khabib vs. Conor 2. It wasn't that he didn't want to fight, and he didn't want to fight Conor. I don't believe that. He didn't want to beat the scale anymore, and that's the one thing that the company did miss.''
USA Today
02-05-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Daniel Cormier wishes he retired on top like Khabib Nurmagomedov and Georges St-Pierre
Daniel Cormier wishes he retired on top like Khabib Nurmagomedov and Georges St-Pierre Former UFC dual-champion Daniel Cormier admits he should have hung up his gloves earlier than he did. Cormier (22-3 MMA, 11-3 UFC) retired in 2020 after back-to-back heavyweight title losses to Stipe Miocic. The former NCAA Division I All-American was one of few UFC fighters to not only win two titles simultaneously, but successfully defend both. After knocking out Miocic at UFC 226 to become double-champ, Cormier successfully defended his belt with a submission of Derrick Lewis at UFC 230. That's when Cormier would have rather walked away, but instead, he explains how he was lured into two more title fights with Miocic. "Listen to not only your body – because your body is going to tell you first," Cormier said on the WOLFpak podcast. "Your mind will actually tell you. You know when it's time. Not everybody gets what Khabib got. Khabib literally got a fairytale. Him and Georges St-Pierre got to leave on top. Not everybody gets that. But listen to what's available, the signs, everything that's pinging at your mind. When you don't love to train no more, you're probably done. "When you don't love the competition or look forward to it anymore, you're probably done. Honestly, I didn't need to fight that last fight against Stipe, the last two. I didn't need to. I just wanted to fight and I wasn't ready to let go. There was way too much money at the time – the money got way too good. But we did a training camp in my garage because they shut down AKA. I should've recognized it then and listened to everything." Khabib Nurmagomedov (29-0 MMA, 13-0 UFC) retired as an undefeated UFC lightweight champion after submitting Justin Gaethje for his third title defense at UFC 254 in October 2020. Meanwhile, former UFC welterweight champion St-Pierre (26-2 MMA, 20-2 UFC) hung up his gloves after returning from a four-year layoff to dethrone Michael Bisping and become middleweight champion at UFC 217 in November 2017.
Yahoo
19-02-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Justin Gaethje likes chances to beat Islam Makhachev better than he did Khabib Nurmagomedov
Justin Gaethje hopes he gets the opportunity to challenge UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev. Gaethje (25-5 MMA, 8-5 UFC) will look to re-enter the title picture when he takes on Dan Hooker (24-12 MMA, 14-8 UFC) in a five-round lightweight co-main event (pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+) March 8 at UFC 313 from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Gaethje, a former interim lightweight champion, fell short twice in his pursuit for undisputed gold – suffering submission losses to Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 254 and Charles Oliveira at UFC 274. Makhachev has defended his lightweight title a division-record four times and already holds wins over top-ranked contenders Arman Tsarukyan, Oliveira and Dustin Poirier. However, he's yet to fight Gaethje. "I want to fight Makhachev, he is the champ, and I do believe that he is a better matchup for me than Khabib," Gaethje said during a Q&A on his YouTube channel. "But he's good." Although Gaethje was one of few fighters to ever win a round against Nurmagomedov, he's not confident that he could have beaten that version of "The Eagle." "I think Khabib was probably the one that I felt even if I performed better, I'm not sure that if I could've beaten him that night specifically," Gaethje said. "That night that I fought Khabib, I would say he is my toughest opponent to date." Islam Makhachev's coach: 'Biggest threat' Justin Gaethje no longer in UFC title picture Justin Gaethje: UFC lightweight champ Islam Makhachev is not Khabib, and I want to prove it Daniel Cormier reveals the incredible way that Khabib showed mercy on Justin Gaethje Twitter reacts to Khabib Nurmagomedov's retirement, finish of Justin Gaethje at UFC 254 For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie's event hub for UFC 313. This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Justin Gaethje likes chances to beat Islam Makhachev better than he did Khabib Nurmagomedov
USA Today
19-02-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Justin Gaethje likes chances to beat Islam Makhachev better than he did Khabib Nurmagomedov
Justin Gaethje hopes he gets the opportunity to challenge UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev. Gaethje (25-5 MMA, 8-5 UFC) will look to re-enter the title picture when he takes on Dan Hooker (24-12 MMA, 14-8 UFC) in a five-round lightweight co-main event (pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+) March 8 at UFC 313 from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Gaethje, a former interim lightweight champion, fell short twice in his pursuit for undisputed gold – suffering submission losses to Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 254 and Charles Oliveira at UFC 274. Makhachev has defended his lightweight title a division-record four times and already holds wins over top-ranked contenders Arman Tsarukyan, Oliveira and Dustin Poirier. However, he's yet to fight Gaethje. 'I want to fight Makhachev, he is the champ, and I do believe that he is a better matchup for me than Khabib,' Gaethje said during a Q&A on his YouTube channel. 'But he's good.' Although Gaethje was one of few fighters to ever win a round against Nurmagomedov, he's not confident that he could have beaten that version of 'The Eagle.' 'I think Khabib was probably the one that I felt even if I performed better, I'm not sure that if I could've beaten him that night specifically,' Gaethje said. 'That night that I fought Khabib, I would say he is my toughest opponent to date.' For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie's event hub for UFC 313.
