Stephen Thompson understands why Khabib Nurmagomedov chose to retire after his father passed away.
Stephen Thompson, who has his father as his head coach, said he would do what Nurmagomedov did and that is retire from MMA if his dad wasn’t in his corner.
“I don’t see myself doing it without him, just like Khabib,” Thompson said to MMAFighting. “I kind of understand, I felt for him when his dad passed, rest in peace. My condolences to him. For him not to be there, I understood that. Because my dad’s been here since the beginning. He’s been in my corner for every fight. He’s never missed one.
“So when it gets to the point where my dad’s not able to do it, I think that’s gonna be the end of it. I don’t want to be out there without him in the corner because he’s been for every fight. To be able to do that and experience that with your dad, not a whole lot of people can say they can do that. To be able to look on that and smile is just amazing.”
Stephen Thompson is currently a top-five welterweight and coming off a win over Geoff Neal. However, UFC gold has alluded him for his entire career but hopes to fight and win the belt this year with his father in his corner.
Be sure to follow the MMA News Facebook Page for additional content & breaking news around the MMA world.
