Khabib Nurmagomedov Has a Problem With How the UFC Treats Their Fighters: “This is not fair.”
Khabib Nurmagomedov has voiced concerns about the direction of combat sports promotion after the UFC parted ways with welterweight Rinat Fakhretdinov. Speaking at the World Sports Summit in Dubai on December 30, the former lightweight champion addressed what he sees as a problematic shift in how American promotions evaluate talent.
Khabib Nurmagomedov Calls Out UFC Politics After Rinat Fakhretdinov Release
Fakhretdinov departed the UFC after the promotion chose not to renew his contract despite a spotless record of six wins and one draw across seven fights. His most recent performance was a 54-second knockout victory over Andreas Gustafsson in September 2025. The Russian welterweight had also secured victories over notable opponents including former interim lightweight title challenger Kevin Lee and Bryan Battle.
The retired champion pointed to what he describes as a growing emphasis on verbal theatrics over athletic performance. “There are so many hungry fighters coming and they don’t like to talk trash. They just come, smash people, and take money, and U.S. promotions don’t like this,” Khabib explained during his summit appearance.
He acknowledged the business logic behind promoting entertainers but pushed back against the principle. “In one way, it’s business. But at the end of the day, this is sport. You go alone inside the cage and we’ll see who the best in the world is.”
Khabib manages several gyms across Dagestan with approximately 500 amateur fighters training in his system. The region has developed a reputation for producing technically skilled. Fighters from this background typically train in harsh mountain environments and follow rigid daily routines that emphasize repetition and fundamentals over modern gym facilities.
The former champion expressed frustration with what he perceives as deliberate roster management designed to limit Dagestani representation. “Right now I see some promotions follow politics and just don’t sign them because they’re tired. All Magomedovs, Nurmagomedovs jump to the UFC and take over,” he stated. He suggested that promotional decisions in recent years have increasingly favored fighters who generate media attention through confrontational behavior rather than competitive results alone.
Multiple fighters have been released from UFC contracts without suffering defeats in the octagon. The promotion cut Fakhretdinov along with Loik Radzhabov and Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos just before Christmas 2025. The UFC’s transition to Paramount+ in 2026 represents a business model shift that emphasizes subscriber retention rather than pay-per-view sales. This change appears to place additional pressure on fighters to maintain consistent fan engagement beyond their performance records.
Islam Makhachev offered a more pragmatic assessment of the situation. The current lightweight champion suggested that foreign fighters need to develop English language skills and create compelling narratives to succeed in Western promotions. “The UFC needs fighters they can sell, who can make money,” Makhachev explained when discussing Fakhretdinov’s departure.
The debate touches on fundamental questions about how combat sports should balance athletic merit against entertainment value. While trash talk has historically driven major pay-per-view events like the Khabib-Conor McGregor bout that sold over two million purchases, the strategy creates barriers for athletes from cultures that prioritize different values.
Fakhretdinov confirmed on his Telegram account that his contract expired and was not renewed for specific reasons he did not elaborate on. He indicated that multiple promotional offers with improved compensation had already arrived following his UFC departure. The 34-year-old welterweight had been on a 21-fight unbeaten streak since his last loss in 2013.
Khabib emphasized the need for fairness in roster decisions. “In the last couple of years, they cut so many fighters who didn’t lose in the UFC. They just finished their contracts and didn’t give them a new one. Somebody has to talk about this, and I think this is not fair.”
