[ad_1]
Undefeated UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov has left the door open for a 30th fight inside the Octagon.
Promotion chairman Dana White said if the two lightweight fights next week – Conor McGregor v Dustin Poirier and Dan Hooker v Michael Chandler – were spectacular, Nurmagomedov would consider returning to fight one of the winners.
“If these guys could do something special, Khabib will fight them,” White said on UFC Fight Night: Holloway vs Kattar in Abu Dhabi on Saturday.
Nurmagomedov has a chance to make a perfect 30-0 with a win in a potential comeback fight.
Nurmagomedov, one of the world’s most prominent Muslim athletes, and White met in person backstage at a UAE Warriors MMA event on Friday night in Abu Dhabi, co-promoted by Nurmagomedov’s new organization Eagle FC. .
In October, Nurmagomedov surprisingly announced his retirement after a second round victory over Justin Gaethje at UFC 254. Prior to that fight, Nurmagomedov was in mourning over the death of his father last summer due to complications from COVID. -19. Nurmagomedov’s father Abdulmanap was also his head coach and closest confidant.
Nurmagomedov (29-0) is the world’s best pound-for-pound ESPN fighter. The native of Dagestan, an autonomous republic of Russia, has won all of his 13 UFC fights, a record for most consecutive UFC lightweight wins. Nurmagomedov, 32, has the longest lightweight title reign in UFC history and is tied for the lightest title defenses in the UFC (3). He beat former champions Gaethje, McGregor, Poirier and Rafael dos Anjos.
[ad_2]
Source link