And so it came to be that the curtain came down on Khabib Nurmagomedov's mixed martial arts (MMA) career in an empty, silent arena in Abu Dhabi, in front of no spectators, and in jarringly serene fashion.
For a sport whose biggest stars have built their profiles not just on their skills but also by trash talking and courting controversy - a la Conor McGregor - Nurmagomedov's dignified exit comes across as a bit, well, odd.
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