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Khabib Nurmagomedov recently shared an Instagram post from UFC Eurasia's official handle. The post highlighted the Dagestani fighter's championship victory moments from UFC 223 on April 7, 2018.
In 2012, 'The Eagle' made his UFC debut and began a dominant run in the promotion. After Conor McGregor was stripped of the UFC lightweight title, Nurmagomedov got the opportunity to compete for it.
At UFC 223, the Dagestani fighter faced Al Iaquinta and clinched a unanimous decision victory, winning the vacant UFC lightweight title. Nurmagomedov reflected on those moments, writing:
"Exactly 7 years ago. Time passed so quickly ))"
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In the subsequent Instagram story, Nurmagomedov recalled the rapid developments leading up to his championship fight at UFC 223.
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Check out Khabib Nurmagomedov's Instagram story below:
![Khabib Nurmagomedov's Instagram story. [Screenshots Courtesy: @khabib_nurmagomedov on Instagram]](https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2025/04/e11a0-17441065051236-1920.jpg)
Initially, Tony Ferguson was scheduled to face 'The Eagle' at UFC 223. However, he had to withdraw due to a knee injury. Max Holloway stepped in to replace 'El Cucuy' but was also replaced after NYSAC declared him unfit to compete. As a result, Iaquinta ended up fighting Nurmagomedov.
Chael Sonnen believes Khabib Nurmagomedov retired due to weight-cutting issues
After winning the UFC lightweight title, Khabib Nurmagomedov successfully defended it three times before retiring. In his final fight at UFC 254, 'The Eagle' defeated Justin Gaethje and announced his retirement from the sport with a record of 29 wins and no losses.
Recently, UFC Hall of Famer Chael Sonnen theorized that the main reason behind the early retirements of fighters is due to significant complications and struggles during the weight-cutting process. In a recent video on his YouTube channel, Sonnen said:
"The number one reason fighters retire is because they don't want to make weight anymore. Khabib at 29-0, just for example, they would have got to 30-0, they were changing the wrong numbers, they were adding commas and zeros, they needed to change the weight class. You would have got Khabib. You'd have got him one more time. Khabib retired from the sport because he was done making 155. That's the truth."
Check out Chael Sonnen's comments below (8:40):
