Khabib on return: ‘I must become more professional’

It has been nearly two years since Khabib ‘The Eagle’ Nurmagomedov has competed inside the Octagon.

In his last Octagon appearance, ‘The Eagle’ defeated Rafael Dos Anjos via unanimous decision. A bout between Nurmagomedov and Cerrone was booked for September of 2014, however a knee injury forced ‘The Eagle’ out of the bout. Nurmagomedov was then expected to face Cerrone once against at UFC 187, but he was forced out of that bout as well.

Finally, Nurmagomedov was slated to face Tony Ferguson on December 11th at the TUF 22 Finale, however just several weeks before the fight Nurmagomedov was forced out of the bout with a rib injury.

After briefly contemplating retirement, Nurmagomedov decided to heal up and attempt to return once again, but the way he tells it, something needs to change.

He spoke to BloodyElbow:

“I’ll have to change some things in my training, still do not know what, but I must do something to become more professional. I think I train too hard, but it is not intelligent training. I understand that many people expect to see me struggling, and I understand they are upset not to see me. But I’m also upset not to fight. I’ll try to change something next year.”