The recently retired UFC Lightweight Champion Khabib Nurmagomedov took to social media to share with fans the extent of his broken foot.
Khabib had suffered the injury just three weeks before he was due to face Justin Gaethje in the Octagon.
The Russian’s trainer Javier Mendez told Yahoo Sports Reporter Kevin Iole that they had suffered the worst training camp they had ever experienced.
Before he broke his foot, Khabib had suffered a case of the mumps, so subsequently was in and out of hospital for two weeks prior.
Despite not looking great during sparring sessions following his recovery from the mumps, things got much worse for ‘The Eagle.’
Mendez said: “He looked Ok. Not how I wanted him to look. And the second sparring session he was looking great, and all of a sudden midway in the second round, boom, he stops. I go. ‘What the heck happened?’ Broke his freakin toe. And I’m like, ‘Oh, great. Broken toe.’ Now we have to wait for more time for him to heal before we can start training again.”
This did not stop Khabib, however, from cementing his UFC legacy as one of the greatest mixed martial artists of all time as he secured a commanding victory over American Justin Gaethje at UFC 254.
This was the Russian’s third successful title defence and his first fight since losing his father Abdulmanap in July of this year.
This led Khabib to make a promise to his mother that he will not return to the Octagon.
In a press conference following the UFC 254 event, President Dana White paid tribute to the Lightweight Champion.
White said: “We’re lucky we got to see him fight tonight.
“He is one of the toughest human beings on the planet.”
This latest victory ensured that ‘The Eagle’ finishes his UFC career with a perfect 29-0 record.