Khabib Nurmagomedov would ‘smash John Cena’s face’ according to manager Ali Abdelaziz.
The former UFC lightweight champion retired from MMA completely in October 2020 in the immediate aftermath of his victory over Justin Gaethje.
Naturally, speculation about what is next has been a topic of conversation for many fans after the Russian walked away from the sport at the peak of his powers and with 29 straight victories.
Although he has coached plenty of his fellow Dagestani fighters in recent months to carry on his father’s legacy, the competitive fire must still be burning.
In an interview with TMZ Sports, Abdelaziz was asked about possibly crossing over into the world of WWE and sports entertainment and he held absolutely nothing back when talking about his client.
He said: “Let’s be real, [if] any of these soft steroid freaks wanted to go ahead and have a wrestling match with Khabib and they want to get beat up for real, they know who they need to call.
“He’ll go there and he’ll smash John Cena’s face. No problem.”
Many suspected a bout against UFC Hall of Famer Georges St-Pierre could tempt Khabib out one more time in his quest to get to 30-0, although the former two-weight world champion never managed to agree terms on a deal.
Speaking to Joe Rogan on his podcast, GSP called the 32-year-old, the ‘scariest’ fighter in the world.
“To me, Khabib is one of the scariest to do it,” he said. “Because he’s beating you down.
“He’s not only beating you, but he’s breaking you mentally. And for me, that is worse than anything. For me, he’s the scariest one pound-for-pound.”
“I would have been (interested in fighting Nurmagomedov). But it’s over now. I was done three years ago.”
He added: “I wanted to come back for Khabib because for a fighter, the scariest thing sometimes is the most exciting thing to do.
“And (Khabib) is a problem that has never been solved before. But to come back for another guy and to fight for another title, then if I win it’s going to be another one and another one.
“I’m going to turn 40 years old, and I hate to admit it Joe, and I refuse to accept it, but sometimes I feel like my best years might be behind me.”