Rumor Mill! Is Khabib Returning To Fight ‘Rocky’ At UFC 300?

Rumors are beginning to circulate around the combat community that Khabib Nurmagomedov could be making a comeback at UFC 300 this April.

It needs to be stated that these are just rumors at this time. Nothing more, nothing less. But when you have one of the greatest fighters of all time sitting on the sidelines and an event like UFC 300 currently without a major headlining act, bringing Khabib back into the fold now would be perfect timing.

Maybe this is the rabbit in the hat that UFC president Dana White talked about.

Nurmagomedov, who stepped away from the sport after submitting Justin Gaethje back in Oct. 2020, has remained adamant that he is retired for good. The former UFC lightweight champion has stayed busy outside of the cage through coaching, business ventures, and spending time with his family. Khabib is already rich and has already accomplished everything there is to accomplish in the sport of mixed martial arts (MMA).

Remember, he retired with an undefeated professional record of 29-0.

This week, Khabib’s former head coach, Javier Mendez, revealed that “Eagle” has returned to training with him. Mendez made it clear that Nurmagomedov has maintained training since his retirement from the sport, but that he only trains with Mendez when he has a fight to prepare for. This could mean Khabib is gearing up for a return to fighting.

Check out Mendez’s comments below:

“He’s always training. Always training. But he’s never trained with me. You understand?

“He’s been training, but he’s never trained with me. Only when he fights he trains with me. That I can tell you.

“Whether he fights or not, I don’t know. But he’s training with me so you can take that for what it’s worth.”

MMA analyst, Chael Sonnen, usually has a good good beat on these type of rumors and he’s also hearing that Nurmagomedov has returned to training with Mendez. Sonnen did not speculate if this meant Khabib will return to fight in UFC again, but he found it interesting nonetheless.

“Coach Javier Mendez, owner and leader of the American Kickboxing Academy, came out in an interview and said that Khabib (Nurmagomedov) is back training with me,” said Sonnen on his YouTube channel. “He said, ‘Khabib always goes to practice, but he only trains with me when he’s getting ready for a fight.’ And that is all I know.”

What does this all mean? It’s pure speculation. With UFC 300 still missing an eye-popping main event fight fans are going to reach for straws as long as they can. A return by Khabib at UFC 300 would be the big attraction the promotion was looking for, but there are a lot of stars that need to align in order for that to happen. Khabib returning to train with Mendez would be the first of many.

Thoughts?