Khabib Would 'Smash John Cena's Face' in WWE, Says Nurmagomedov's Manager

Ali Abdelaziz, the manager for Khabib Nurmagomedov, said the former UFC lightweight champion would make easy work of any potential WWE opponent, including John Cena.

"Let's be real, [if] any of these soft steroid freaks wanted to go ahead and have a wrestling match with Khabib and they wanna get beat up for real, they know who they need to call," Abdelaziz told TMZ Sports in an interview released Sunday. "He'll go there and he'll smash John Cena's face. No problem."

Nurmagomedov retired from the UFC in October after successfully defending his lightweight title with a submission victory over Justin Gaethje, which moved his career record to 29-0.

UFC President Dana White had tried to convince the Russian superstar to return, but in March, he confirmed on Twitter the retirement was official:

Khabib hasn't disclosed any future plans, though Abdelaziz explained to TMZ he's spent some time coaching to follow in the footsteps of his father, Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov, who died in July.

"He got no egos, he loves his friends, he loves his peers and he's there for them," Abdelaziz said. "You're gonna see a lot of new generation coming from his team. They're probably going to dominate the UFC or MMA in general."

A move to WWE would make a lot of sense. There's been plenty of crossovers in the past, including Brock Lesnar, Ronda Rousey and Bobby Lashley, and the company can provide him with a flexible schedule.

Lesnar typically made very sporadic appearances surrounding the company's biggest events, which would allow Khabib to remained focused on coaching. But there's also a route to a full-time role like Lashley, who defended his WWE Championship by beating Drew McIntyre at WrestleMania 37 on Saturday night.

It's unclear whether Cena, who's mostly transitioned to a full-time acting role at this stage, would return for a Nurmagomedov encounter, but there are no shortage of potential opponents if he does make the jump to professional wrestling.