Dana White says Khabib Nurmagomedov ‘Is the LW Champion,’ set to meet him again in Vegas

Khabib Nurmagomedov (29-0) still remains the reigning UFC lightweight champion on papers, despite announcing his retirement almost four months ago, following his dominant second-round submission win over Justin Gaethje at UFC 254. That’s because UFC president Dana White is still adamant on bringing the Eagle back to the octagon for one last match, which could probably propel Khabib’s MMA record to a perfect 30-0.

Still, Nurmagomedov has stood firm in his stance that fighting is not in his near future and has even urged the promotion to move on with the lightweight division without him. He even went as far as to say that Dustin Poirier deserves to be the next champion while talking to Match TV a few days ago. Khabib Nurmagomedov hailed The Diamond for his recent TKO win over Conor McGregor, claiming that Poirier now has wins over future Hall of Famers like Jim Miller, Eddie Alvarez, Anthony Pettis, Max Holloway and others.

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Khabib UFC return: Dana White on Khabib Nurmagomedov’s current status

Despite Khabib’s suggestion, White & Co. have no plans to take the lightweight crown away from Nurmagomedov. While talking to Tony Mui of Complex, Dana White made it clear that “Khabib is the champion”. He claimed that the Eagle deserves to remain the 155lb king as he has defeated top contenders Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier in the past. “If you look at the guys that deserve to be there, it's whoever's gonna win out of the top five. We've got Poirier, Gaethje, Oliveira, Chandler and you still have Tony Ferguson and Conor McGregor in the mix still,” he added.  

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Khabib UFC return: Dana White and Khabib Nurmagomedov to have another meeting

Khabib Nurmagomedov and Dana White met last month to discuss the Eagle's future. However, while fans were waiting for a definitive answer, White punted on the decision, telling fans that the reigning champion would wait till UFC 257 to see anything extraordinary, which can force him to come back. However, with Conor McGregor getting battered by Dustin Poirier at the main event, Khabib Nurmagomedov didn’t see any reason to make a U-turn, telling White after the event that he’s “levels above” the other lightweights.

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However, Dana White has still not given up hope as he announced that he’s scheduled to meet Khabib Nurmagomedov again in Las Vegas. The Eagle also talked about the meeting earlier, adding that it can happen in late February. “We've not (moved on from Khabib). Khabib is the champion. Khabib's coming to Vegas. He and I are going to go to dinner and talk and see what's next,” Dana White told Complex.

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Image Source: AP