A retired champion was asked for career advice by a female fan about getting into MMA, but he told her women should ‘do women’s work’

In the current era, almost every sport has women striving for the top. The same goes for the MMA, where productive female fighters like Ronda Rousey and Gina Carano often hit the headlines for their impressive showdowns. However, the retired UFC fighter Khabib Nurmagomedov has reignited the debate about women in MMA after dismissing their role in the fighting ring.

Well, it’s not the first time that the athlete has shared his controversial opinion about women, as he has called them ‘weak’ and unsuitable for MMA before. Now, according to Bloody Elbow, his views about women remain unchanged because of the comments he made in the press conference held by the real estate company, Sun Hills Development. One of the women questioned from the crowd about Khabib’s opinion on the rise of women in MMA.

To her surprise, the fighter’s views remained the same as before and also turned into a lengthy lecture. Khabib first admitted that his words would turn into a debate, then shared his view, “How do you personally feel when you go to the gym and get hit in the face? You haven’t been hit. But you don’t need that. But there are women who choose this sport. It’s their choice. They chose it. If you ask me, I wouldn’t choose this sport for women.”

Khabib thinks women are weaker and they should stick to their roles instead of men’s

It’s not like the fighter shared his views about women disrespectfully; he just takes a different approach to this sport. Khabib said, “If they want to come to the gym and train to be able to defend themselves, there are women who think they can come, train, and if someone attacks them, they can defend themselves. Well, there are such women. Let them go and train, no problem.”

​By that, he meant women going to the gym and training to fight is a great initiative, but when the concern is self-defence. Later in his lecture, the UFC legend remained unenthusiastic with the idea of women in MMA, as getting hit in the face, whether from a man or a woman, doesn’t sound ideal to him.

He also weighed into the responsibilities of each gender, saying, “For a man, it’s to raise children, take care of the family, take care of loved ones, neighbors, relatives. There are very few women who take on big responsibilities. It’s very hard for them. It’s not without reason. Even God created it this way. A woman is weaker, a man is stronger.” This way, he justified his claim of calling women weaker, declaring that fighting as a sport fits men the most.

Khabib Nurmagomedov might be fair, but the reality differs. Fighters like Ronda Rousey, who have become successful enough to demand high salaries, built her fame as dominant bantamweight MMA champions in Strikeforce and later the UFC. Like another successful female fighter, Gina Carano, she later shifted to acting but is returning to the cage for the same May 2026 Netflix MMA card. With them being an inspiration, the rise of women in MMA is likely to continue.