Khabib Nurmagomedov Breaks Rib, Scrapped From Ferguson Fight, May Retire

Unlucky UFC lightweight Khabib Nurmagomedov is out of the running once again, this time he’s taken out of a huge fight with Tony Ferguson at The Ultimte Fighter 22 finals in December. Once again, following numerous knee surgeries, ‘The Eagles’ has been struck hard by the injury curse. Before you jump on The American Kickboxing Acadamy for their training methods, the injury is reported to have happened in Russia.

The unbeaten (22-0) top ranked lightweight just hasn’t been able to catch a break since his last win, a 2014 decision over current champion Rafael dos Anjos. A win over the streaking Ferguson would undoubtedly have sent the Russian Sambo wrestler in to the top of the title mix, as it stands, Nurmagomedov now says he may never return to fighting. As per his Instagram account:

Хочу извиниться перед моими болельщиками, я сломал ребро и опять выбыл с боя, я очень хотел вернуться, я не уверен вернусь ли я вообще когда нибудь, спасибо большое Всем моим болельщикам, моим спонсорам, хвала Аллаху в любом положении. I want to apologize to my fans. I broke my rib, and again I am out of the fight. I really wanted to come back, I’m not sure if i will ever come back. Thanks to my fans and my sponsors. Praise to Allah. #Alhamdulillah #khkmmateam #reebok #ufc

A photo posted by Khabib Nurmagomedov (@khabib_nurmagomedov) on Oct 29, 2015 at 10:31pm PDT

Although he tried to battle through the injured rib, it’s reported that he was unable to get medically cleared. According to Ariel Helwani, the UFC is looking to replace ‘The Eagle’ with Brazilian striker Edson Barboza.

Stay tuned for more updates on this unlucky lightweight contender.