KEY POINTS Rumor has it that UFC lightweight chamo Khabib Nurmagomedov had been KO'd in training before leaving for Russia

Nurmagomedov's head coach said his fighter didn't choose to withdraw from UFC 249

Nurmagomedov revealed target date for UFC return

UFC lightweight champ Khabib Nurmagomedov may have been knocked out during a training session, new rumors are claiming.

In his stellar UFC career, Nurmagomedov has never been KO’d nor defeated by any of his lightweight peers. To this day, pundits and other UFC fighters still can’t seem to figure out how to stop “The Eagle” inside the octagon.

However, according to MMA news website Middleeasy.com, there is a top-secret rumor floating around from a credible yet anonymous source that Nurmagomedov was actually knocked out during training before leaving for Russia.

It has been said that the knock out happened over three weeks ago. But as for whether or not the KO had anything with Nurmagomedov leaving the states has yet to be confirmed.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, Nurmagomedov was forced to return to his homeland where he continued training. However, travel restrictions and continual changes dramatically impacted the undefeated champ’s preparation.

More devastating news hit Nurmagomedov after UFC president Dana White confirmed that he’s officially out of the UFC 249 main event.

Following UFC’s announcement, fans and former UFC two-division king Conor McGregor criticized Nurmagomedov and called him a “chicken” for his decision to withdraw from the fight.

In his defense, Nurmagomedov’s head coach Javier Mendez shut down the criticism in a recent Youtube Q&A. According to Mendez, his fighter did not choose to sit out on anything. Instead, it was a decision made out of the promotion’s lack of sense of urgency in terms of the location of the fight.

“He (Nurmagomedov) didn’t choose to sit it out,” Mendez clarified on YouTube Q&A (via a transcript by MMA Fighting.

“He just went back home and he was waiting and training and waiting for a location. So he didn’t choose to sit out anything. They couldn’t give him a location and then he couldn’t get permission. He wasn’t gonna be able to get permission, so he didn’t really sit anything out,” he continued.

Despite the numerous issues surrounding his name, Nurmagomedov remained positive and took to Instagram to offer a potential date for his next fight. However, the lightweight champion is hesitant to believe that things will clear up by then.

“But until September, it’s not too far, though it’s hard to believe that everything will end by September, but yet one serious person said: that in the peaceful time you have to prepare for war,” Nurmagomedov wrote.