Khabib Nurmagomedov (right) with his father Abdulmanap (photo via YouTube)

By FCF Staff

Recently Khabib Nurmagomeodv’s manager said that he believes the UFC’s lightweight champ will battle Justin Gaethje before 2020 concludes. But, his teammate Daniel Cormier doesn’t think we’ll see the undefeated star fight for awhile, following the passing of his father.

After Gaethje stopped Tony Ferguson in May to win the interim title, it was reported the UFC was hoping to have Nurmagomedov and Gaethje fight in September. But, that was before Khabib’s father and longtime coach, Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov, passed away from COVID-19 complications earlier this month.

As a result of how close Khabib was with his father, there’s been extensive speculation about when he’ll be ready to fight again. In a recent appearance on ESPN, Cormier reported he doesn’t think Nurmagomedov will fight in 2020.

In fact, ‘DC’ isn’t positive that Khabib will fight again (quotes via MMA Junkie).

“I don’t think he’s fighting this year, honestly,” Cormier said. “And it’s gong to take a lot of strength from a very strong man for Khabib to be back in the octagon, ever. I just know what Abdulmanap meant to him, and I know that this was their journey together.

“I knew right away that Khabib wasn’t going to (come back in September). … It’s going to be too difficult. It’s going to be too difficult. Khabib is dealing with something that’s so difficult and so tough. And like we spoke a couple of weeks ago, him and his dad’s relationship is so much different. He was everything to him, and now he’s gone, so it’s going to be awhile before we see Khabib.”

In a recent interview with TMZ Sports, the manager for Nurmagomedov and Gaethje, Ali Abdelaziz, said he thinks the two will fight before 2020 concludes.

The 31 year-old Nurmagomedov hasn’t fought since September, 2019, when he submitted Dustin Poirier.