Dana White reveals he is set to meet with Khabib Nurmagomedov in January to discuss potential retirement U-turn… as UFC chief admits he feels ‘confident’ he can bring legendary fighter back to try and make his record 30-0
- Khabib Nurmagomedov quit after his third title defence against Justin Gaethje
- Dana White is ‘confident’ that he can convince Nurmagomedov to come back
- The UFC president says Khabib could return to competition to achieve 30-0
- White is due to meet with Nurmagomedov in January to discuss his return
UFC president Dana White is ‘confident’ he can convince Khabib Nurmagomedov to come out of retirement and return to the Octagon.
White claims Khabib could return to competition to achieve 30-0 despite promising his mother her would retire after his third title defence against Justin Gaethje in October at UFC 254.
White is set to meet with Nurmagomedov in January to discuss his potential retirement U-turn and claims that the Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier fight will not be for an interim title.
Dana White is ‘confident’ he can convince Khabib Nurmagomedov to come out of retirement
White told BT Sport: ‘I think his dad wanting him to get to 30-0 is in the back of his mind and he wants to achieve that because he knew his father wanted it.
‘But we’ll see. He and I are going to get together next month and talk.
‘He might not, maybe he won’t fight. I don’t know the answer to that. But I’m a little confident I can talk him into it.’
The lightweight champion announced he was retiring after beating Justin Gaethje at UFC 254
White believes Khabib wants to reach 30-0 despite promising his mother her would retire
With Khabib potentially returning to the Octagon, White has stated the UFC 257 rematch between Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier will not be for an interim title.
White claims there will be more clarity surrounding the lightweight division once he meets with Khabib next month.
He said: ‘No interim title, I’ll know next month. I’ll know when Conor and Poirier are fighting, when he’s [Nurmagomedov] going to fight again, so it all times out perfectly.’
White is due to meet with Khabib next month to discuss his potential return to the Octagon
With Khabib’s return, White has stated the UFC 257 rematch between Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier will not be for an interim title
Khabib has, however, stated that he will not be fighting the McGregor-Poirier winner during a press conference in Russia ahead of his new promotion company’s – Eagle Fighting Championships – launch.
‘I choked both of them, both were champions, both surrendered to me,’ Khabib said. ‘As our proverb says: a horse doesn’t run until the donkey wins.
‘Donkeys don’t even take part in competitions where horses run. I have no interest in fighting against these opponents.’