When the Ultimate Fighting Championship returns to Fight Island to
kick off its 2020 schedule, UFC president Dana White is expected to
have his long-awaited meeting with Khabib
Nurmagomedov.
Nurmagomedov announced his retirement in the Octagon following a
victory over Justin
Gaethje at UFC 254 in Abu Dhai on Oct. 24, citing a promise he
made to his mother. However, the possibility still exists that “The
Eagle” would come back to try and finish his career at 30-0 to
fulfill a goal he set with his late father, Abdulmanap
Nurmagomedov.
“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,” White told BT Sport. “But
we’ll see. Him and I are getting together next month and talk. He
might not want to fight, I don’t know the answer to that. But I’m a
little confident that I can talk him into it.”
In anticipation of a potential Nurmagomedov return, the promotion
has not vacated the lightweight belt, and White has been adamant
that the UFC 257 rematch between Conor
McGregor and Dustin
Poirier will not be for an interim title.
White believes the lightweight division will have more clarity at
the beginning of next year following his meeting with
Nurmagomedov.
“No interim title, I’ll know next month,” White said. “I’ll know
when Conor and Poirier are fighting, when he’s [Nurmagomedov] going
to fight again, so it all times out perfectly.”
Nurmagomedov recently held a press conference in Russia to
announced the launch of his own promotion, Eagle Fighting
Championships. The Dagestani star also
shut down the possibility of a bout vs. the McGregor-Poirier
winner during that session.
“I choked both of them, both were champions, both surrendered to
me,” Nurmagomedov said then. “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.”