Dana White will meet Khabib on UFC 257 fight week, confident he can talk him into comeback

According to the recently updated UFC rankings, Khabib Nurmagomedov is still the reigning lightweight champion despite retiring from the sport back in October. The Russian announced his retirement after defeating Justin Gaethje at the main event of UFC 254, which shocked many. Since then, The Eagle has shown very limited interest in making a return, with fans calming that a bout for the soon-to-be-vacated title can happen early next year.

Rumours were wild earlier that Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier could collide for the title at UFC 257, but Dana White later shot down the rumours, claiming that there’s no vacant title and McGregor vs Poirier 2 will not be for the 155lb strap. In fact, the UFC supremo thinks that Khabib Nurmagomedov could return for one last bout and the two are scheduled to meet soon to discuss the same.

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Khabib UFC return: Dana White on Khabib’s return

Recently, while talking to the press (via Talksport), Dana White revealed that he’ll meet Khabib Nurmagomedov at the UFC 257 fight week, which is rumoured to take place in Fight Island, Abu Dhabi. And Dana White is extremely “confident” that he’ll talk Nurmagomedov into making a comeback. “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,” Dana White told BT Sport.

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Khabib Nurmagomedov’s father, Abdulmanap, wanted his son to retire after achieving an undefeated 30-0 record. However, following his death in July 2020, Nurmagomedov’s mother asked him to retire from the sport after defending his title against Gaethje. That’s why The Eagle made his announcement and retired from the sport with a record of 29-0.

Dana White claims that Khabib Nurmagomedov respected his father more than anyone, and would defiantly fight once again to fulfil his wish. According to fans, while McGregor vs Poirier 2 will not be for the title, the winner of the bout should defiantly get a title shot next. The highly-anticipated rematch is scheduled to take place on January 20, 2020, and will also mark the return of The Notorious One to the sport.

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