Dana White promises to push Khabib Nurmagomedov as hard as he can for UFC return

UFC 257 is just a few days away and the hype surrounding the event is pretty huge, considering it will be headlined by Conor McGregor vs Dustin Poirier 2. But almost on par with the hype for that event are the talks surrounding the upcoming meeting between UFC lightweight champ Khabib Nurmagomedov and president Dana White, set to take place later this month. The undefeated Russian retired from the sport after defeating Justin Gaethje at UFC 254, claiming that he has no interest in continuing to fight after the departure of his father and head-coach Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov.

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However, Dana White still believes that the 29-0 fighter will return for one more bout as it was Abdulmanap’s dream to see his son reach 30-0. While talking to ESPN’s Brett Okamoto recently, Dana White claimed that he’ll “press Khabib as hard as I can for one more (bout)”. However, White is still not sure how the meeting with the lightweight champ is going to end as Khabib has “money beyond belief and he “doesn’t ever have to work again”.

“I’m obviously meeting with him because I believe he should be fighting again. I mean, look at what he did to Justin Gaethje. Look at what he’s done to every opponent he has faced,” he added.

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Khabib UFC return: Dana White on Khabib vs McGregor 2?

Dana White has said in multiple of occasions that he would love to see a second bout between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor. But, if the Russian stays retired and McGregor goes on to defeat Dustin Poirier at UFC 257, the UFC supremo admits he will have no choice but to let the fight go. “The division’s stacked with tough guys and the reality is that if Khabib does retire then whoever the highest-ranked guy is at the time will end up facing Conor—if Conor beats Poirier and would fight for the title—I’m sure,” he added.

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Khabib Nurmagomedov has made it clear in the past that he doesn’t want to fight any of Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier again as he has defeated them in the past. So, there’s a chance that Nurmagomedov would vacate his title for good or go on to fight some other top-ranked fighter.

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Image Source: AP