Islam Makhachev says he will not retire early like Khabib Nurmagomedov, aiming for more UFC victories

Islam Makhachev is indicating that the end of his UFC run is not near. In an interview reported by Yahoo Sports, Makhachev said he has no intention of following the retirement path associated with his mentor, Khabib Nurmagomedov, who stepped away from the sport at age 32 after finishing his career undefeated and as the undisputed UFC lightweight champion.

Makhachev’s comments come as part of a broader picture of how he views his own legacy. Yahoo Sports reports that Makhachev believes he has more to accomplish rather than treating his rise and championships as a natural stopping point. For his part, Makhachev’s record to date has already tied him tightly to the most successful storyline in recent UFC history: the Nurmagomedov training line and its translation into UFC gold.

The comparison is especially sharp at the sport’s championship levels. According to the Yahoo Sports report, Nurmagomedov retired at 32 as an undisputed champion at 155 pounds. It also reports that Makhachev later surpassed his mentor’s accomplishments at 155 pounds before moving up and claiming gold at 170 pounds, placing him in rare territory as a UFC champion across multiple divisions.

Central to Makhachev’s message is that he is not treating that ascent as a finish line. Instead, Yahoo Sports characterizes his approach as an extended pursuit of UFC wins, with Makhachev describing the “retirement early” notion as something he rejects. The report also frames him as operating with the ambition of a champion who expects to keep competing rather than planning around an abbreviated career.

The way UFC fans interpret that stance matters because it shapes the title picture and the kinds of challengers a champion might face next. When a reigning champion speaks in terms of continued pursuit, it effectively turns “who’s next” from a short-term question into a longer-term planning exercise for both matchmaking and divisions.

There is also a narrative element to the timing. Khabib’s retirement at a young age became one of the UFC’s defining career end-stories, and Makhachev has now positioned himself as the opposite of that script. If Makhachev keeps translating training-era dominance into new championship chapters, he could further entrench the idea that the most important “legacy” measure is not the length of time in the sport alone, but how consistently a fighter can remain at the top.

For now, the only clear takeaway is Makhachev’s stated mindset: he is aiming for more wins and not an early exit. Whether the UFC’s lightweight and welterweight title scenes ultimately provide the next opportunities that match his trajectory will be the real test, but his posture suggests he intends to remain a central figure in the sport’s championship conversations.

Yahoo Sports first reported Makhachev’s rejection of an early retirement path, linking his comments directly to Khabib’s ending and to Makhachev’s own championship climb from 155 to 170 pounds.