It appears Khabib Nurmagomedov has no plans whatsoever on returning to the Octagon.
Following their meeting on Friday, UFC president Dana White revealed Nurmagomedov could potentially return for one more fight if he was impressed by the lightweight contenders competing this weekend.
“His words to me were, ‘I’m gonna watch this fight.’ He said, ‘I would never tie up the division, hold the belt, keep the belt away from anybody else. These guys do something spectacular, show me something spectacular and make me want to come back and fight.’
“So I have the feeling that if somebody delivers, it could be on the co-main event or the main event and like I said he thought Oliveira looked good. Two fights coming up, Oliveira looked great — if these guys can do something special, Khabib will fight them.”
However, that appears to be news to Nurmagomedov as in a recent interview with Sport24, “The Eagle” revealed that while something special would need to happen for him to return, it’s not part of his plans at all for now.
Additionally, he didn’t mention anything about any lightweight contenders either.
“Something has to happen for me to come back,” Nurmagomedov said. “…And if we talk about all my business projects — I have so much to do that is planned and fights are not in these plans.
“… This [fighting] is what I have been doing all my life and I will continue to train constantly as well. But if we talk about the fights, they are not part of my plans.”
The main reason Nurmagomedov retired after UFC 254 in October was because he promised his mother it would be his last fight following the death of his father.
And he seems intent on following her wishes despite White’s claims.
“My mother is the most precious thing I have left,” Nurmagomedov added. “Come on, you won’t push me to do things that will disappoint my mother.
“… I don’t even have any plans for the UFC in the near future. I don’t even have thoughts about preparing for the fight. I saw how Umar [Nurmagomedov] was preparing now and I think: Alhamdulillah I have left it behind.”
What do you think of White’s claims after hearing Nurmagomedov’s comments?