BREAKING: Insider confirms Khabib Nurmagomedov will not corner Islam Makhachev for UFC 284

Khabib Nurmagomedov sent a buzz across the mixed martial arts world by reposting an Instagram upload that alluded to him stepping back entirely from the sport.

Although 'The Eagle' did not explicitly confirm the news, his manager Rizvan Magomedov recently spoke to Russian sports channel Match TV. During the interaction, he confirmed that the former lightweight champion will not corner his protege Islam Makhachev at UFC 284 against Alexander Volkanovski.

Magomedov is a close acquaintance of Khabib Nurmagomedov and is also the CEO of his fight promotion, Eagle FC.

He noted that the UFC Hall of Famer wishes to devote more time to his family and will therefore, most likely, be absent from Makhachev's first title defense in Australia.

Magomedov said:

"I think he made it clear and it was such a balanced decision that he approached for a long time. There is no need to look for any behind-the-scenes reasons or radical incidents there. He just came to this. He ended his career in 2020 but travels during training camps, during fights. Out of 12 months, he is 10 absent from home, constantly on these trips. And he came to such a decision that it was time to spend time with his family, devote time to children. And, most likely, he will miss this fight, yes." [translation via Google]

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Chael Sonnen believes Khabib Nurmagomedov is leaving Islam Makhachev before his biggest fight

Former UFC middleweight contender Chael Sonnen weighed in on Khabib Nurmagomedov's potential exit from the sport.

Sonnen spoke in a video uploaded to his YouTube channel and mentioned that the exit precededthe most significant fight of Islam Makhachev's career:

"I can't come out and tell you that Khabib is done and he won't be with Islam [in his corner at UFC 284]. I can't come out and tell you that. I've got two different statements One is [that] he's taking some time away. Okay, great. Take some time away. The other [statement is], 'I'm leaving the industry,' means, 'I will not be with Islam [in his upcoming fight]...' It affects a whole bunch of guys but possibly nobody has a spotlight on them more than Islam, And I cannot realistically imagine a scenario where Islam in his career goes into a bigger match."

Check out his full comments on his YouTube channel: