"How can I say this is halal?" - Khabib Nurmagomedov answers if fighting goes against his religious principles

Khabib Nurmagomedov has admitted that fighting and hitting people isn't a very good thing to do. In a recent interview, 'The Eagle' was asked whether he quit the UFC because MMA, at its core, could be haram or forbidden by Islamic law because of the violence involved.

In response, Khabib said that he doesn't have the authority to decide what's wrong and what's right. However, he did admit that he is against physical violence.

According to the former UFC lightweight champion, those who learn martial arts with the intention of hurting others should stay away from the sport.

"Smashing faces [of] people, it's not a good thing 100 percent. How can I say this is halal (permissible by Islamic law)? This is not my decision to make something Halal or Haram. I'm just normal human being you know, sometimes smash people. 100 percent this is not a good thing but... If you want to smash people please don't do this. Yeah, it's like, this is a good question."

Catch Khabib Nurmagomedov's comments in the video below:

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Khabib Nurmagomedov reveals how he intentionally refrained from causing severe damage to his opponents

In the interview, Khabib Nurmagomedov also said that he didn't like hitting people to their faces or causing too much damage to them during his fighting career.

For that very reason, 'The Eagle' said he preferred using grappling skills in fights compared to striking. The Russian legend further revealed that he sometimes went easy on his opponents to avoid hurting them severely.

"I don't agree with people who punch face you know? That's why I prefer like, choke, wrestling. Sometimes, when I can, I don't punish my opponents you know? Even when I beat them, I was talking with them and I say, 'Hey, you have to stop? I don't want to give you damage.' Like, it was a couple of times in UFC when I catch my opponents, I can break their arm or something like this, but I told them, 'Hey, you want to tap? I don't want to hurt you', you know?"