The MMA world was taken aback by Khabib Nurmagomedov's unexpected retirement shortly after successfully defending his UFC Lightweight title against Justin Gaethje in the main event of UFC 254 this past Saturday.
While the Russian MMA star relinquished his claim as the best 155-lb fighter in the world, he will leave the cage an extremely wealthy man.
Per Will Griffee of the Daily Mail, Khabib took home the largest payday of his professional fighting career in his swan song, collecting £4.6million ($6,123,982) after finishing Gaethje off with an amazing triangle choke in the second round.
The undefeated combat Sambo specialist will also receive an extra $50,000 for his Performance of the Night Bonus and an additional Pay-per-view bonus. Moreover, he also took home another cool $50,000 as a fight week incentive pay.
Nurmagomedov is bound for a bountiful payday once the PPV numbers are out, considering UFC 254 was one of the biggest cards of 2020. UFC president Dana White even claimed that last weekend's bout has the potential to overtake the previous record set by UFC 229 in terms of pay-per-view buys.
It is worth noting that Khabib's challenger, Justin Gaethje, received $600,000 in his losing effort.
Khabib Nurmagomedov, meanwhile, claimed post-fight that he is retiring to honor his promise to his mother. The Eagle vowed to stop fighting without his father by his side. Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov passed away back in July due to a heart problem exacerbated by COVID-19 symptoms.
He was Khabib's lifelong coach who cornered his son throughout his entire fighting career.
Khabib (29-0) is just one of the select few greats who managed to call it quits without tasting defeat once. Nurmagomedov has always preached that his legacy is more important than money. Still, it's nice to see him earn those big bucks to cap off his legendary career.
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