Khabib Nurmagomedov has a new Ultimate Fighting Championship deal, and the contract comes with one especially noteworthy clause.
According to a report from ESPN.com, Nurmagomedov signed a multi-fight contract with the Las Vegas-based promotion before his title defense against Dustin Poirier at UFC 242 was officially confirmed. The champion’s manager, Ali Abdelaziz, revealed that the deal includes a stipulation in the event a bout with retired former two-division champion Georges St. Pierre ever comes to fruition.
The exact terms involving the St. Pierre clause are unknown, but it could involve reworking the financial aspects of the contract if the Canadian star were to come out of retirement again.
When St. Pierre announced his retirement earlier this year, he confirmed that there were talks to put together a bout against Nurmagomedov.
“We tried to organize the fight with Khabib, I know Khabib want it and I want it, but the UFC had other plan[s],” St. Pierre said. “To the point where I am in my career, for me it’s more taking one fight at a time instead of being there for several fights, and the way the business works … if they promote someone, they want to keep him somewhere … it’s like an investment.”
Nurmagomedov, meanwhile, has targeted the matchup with GSP ever since claiming the vacant lightweight crown at UFC 223 last April.