<
        >

          Conor McGregor, GSP, stars react to Khabib Nurmagomedov's win, retirement at UFC 254

          • ESPN
          Oct 24, 2020, 09:25 PM

          Khabib Nurmagomedov made his latest case to being called the greatest mixed martial artist ever on Saturday. Then he stunned the world.

          Nurmagomedov defended his UFC lightweight championship in the main event at UFC 254, using his world-class ground game to take down challenger Justin Gaethje and finish him with a triangle choke at 1 minute, 34 seconds of Round 2.

          But during his postfight interview after moving to 29-0, Nurmagomedov announced his retirement, saying he didn't want to fight anymore without his father in his corner. Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov died in July from heart complications made worse by the coronavirus.

          "Amazing accomplishment," Georges St-Pierre told ESPN's Ariel Helwani, regarding Nurmagomedov retiring undefeated. "There's many guys that could claim to be the greatest of all time, and for sure Khabib is one of them."

          There was speculation Nurmagomedov would try to fight GSP and retire 30-0.

          "I want him to go with his family in peace and have the peace of mind, not thinking about fighting," St-Pierre said. "Just relax, enjoy your retirement. If one day, you want to come back and do it, our managers will talk.

          "What a legacy. What a model in the sport. Just unbelievable. I'm very happy as a fan of Khabib to see the way he finished his career. Of course, as a competitor, maybe I would have liked to have had an agreement to make a fight with him, to organize it for us as fighters and also for the fans. But as a human being, I'm very, very happy for him. What a great career, what a great way to finish a career and leave a perfect legacy to the world of sport."

          Nurmagomedov's fellow UFC fighters and celebrities took to social media immediately after Saturday's main event to praise him, with several calling him the best fighter, pound for pound, in the world.