Khabib turned down fight at UFC 200 because of Ramadan

Bloody Elbow 2.0 | Anton Tabuena

Apart from being a top contender in the UFC’s lightweight division, Khabib Nurmagomedov is also a devout Muslim. So much so that he refuses to compete professionally during the holy month of Ramadan.

According to a recent interview with riakchr.ru, Khabib was initially offered a fight at the landmark UFC 200 show in Las Vegas but rejected the offer when he realized it conflicts with Ramadan and the Eid holiday that followed.

“I could not take part in the anniversary tournament. When the UFC asked me, I realized it was that June UFC 200 is between Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr. We will probably watch it on TV.”

During the month of Ramadan, able muslims are required to fast (no water or food) from dawn until dusk for a 30 day period. It occurs during the ninth month of the Islamic calendar and commemorates the first revelation of the Holy Quran to the Prophet Muhammad. While Khabib is open to training during the tough conditions of that month, he is not prepared to fight at that time.

“So the first fight in April, and after Ramadan, we will have the second fight.”

This is not the first time that Khaibib opted out of a fight because of Ramadan. Back in 2014, the Dagestan native rejected a fight with Donald Cerrone for exactly the same reason.

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About the author

Karim Zidan

Karim Zidan is a investigative reporter and feature writer focusing on the intersection of sports and politics. He has written for BloodyElbow since 2014 and has served as an associate editor since 2016. He also writes for The New York Times and The Guardian. Karim has been invited to speak about his work at numerous universities, including Princeton, and was a panelist at the South by Southwest (SXSW) film festival and the Oslo Freedom Forum. He also participated in the United Nations counter-terrorism conference in 2021. His reporting on Ramzan Kadyrov’s involvement in MMA, much of which was done for Bloody Elbow, has led to numerous award nominations, and was the basis of an award-winning HBO Real Sports documentary.