Daniel Cormier believes there’s one scenario that could lure his American Kickboxing Academy (AKA) teammate Khabib Nurmagomedov out of retirement.
Cormier recently discussed the topic on a new episode of DC & RC, suggesting that, if money isn’t enough to get Khabib back, perhaps defending a friend’s honor is. A potential lightweight title fight between Charles Oliveira and Islam Makhachev is very much a possibility.
With that being said, should Makhachev, a student and friend of Khabib, fail to get past Oliveira, Cormier would be interested to see if Nurmagomedov would come out of retirement to challenge the Brazilian.
“Man, it’ll be nice to see him [Charles Oliveira] fight Khabib, right?!… Many people said that, ‘It’ll be nice to know, it’ll be nice to know’… What better way to try to draw him back in than by having Oliveira beat his friend, training partner and long time…
“It’s another way to try to draw him in because obviously the money, Dana’s throwing so much money at Khabib to try to get him back, that hasn’t been enough. But what if defending his friend’s honor is enough, if Islam doesn’t get the job done.”
Nurmagomedov retired undefeated in the sport of mixed martial arts (MMA) with a record of 29-0. His wrestling pedigree made him nearly unstoppable inside the Octagon, reigning as one of the most feared lightweight champions of all time.
Shortly after stepping away, submission maestro Charles Oliveira has established himself as the 155-pound king. Many have dream-booked a fight between Oliveira and Nurmagomedov, which was missed by the slightest of windows.
However, if Cormier is right, perhaps there’s still a chance that MMA fans will get to see the highly anticipated fantasy fight.
What do you think about Daniel Cormier suggesting Nurmagomedov could be lured out of retirement should Oliveira beat Makhachev? Are you buying it? Let us know in the comments!
Quotes via Sportskeeda
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