Khabib Nurmagomedov thinks LW division should move on, Poirier 'Deserves to be Champion'

It looks like Khabib Nurmagomedov is ready to vacate his UFC lightweight title. The Eagle retired from the sport after defeating Justin Gaethje at the main event of UFC 254, becoming the pound-for-pound king in the process. Since then, UFC president Dana White has done everything he can to lure Khabib Nurmagomedov back to the octagon for one last run.

Fans were supposed to get a definitive answer back in January when White met Nurmagomedov in Abu Dhabi. Instead, 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 losing to Dustin Poirier, Khabib Nurmagomedov broke Dana White’s dream by showing disinterest in making a return.

"He (Khabib) said to me, 'Dana, be honest with yourself. I'm so many levels above these guys'. I don't know. (Nurmagomedov returning) doesn't sound very positive," White said at the UFC 257 post-fight conference.

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Khabib Nurmagomedov wants Dustin Poirier to rule the division

Because of this, it’s no surprise that Nurmagomedov has now publicly asked the lightweight division to move on without him. And in his opinion, the best man to rule the division next is the former UFC interim lightweight champion Dustin Poirier, who’s also ranked no.1 in the rankings. In a recent interview with Match TV, Khabib Nurmagomedov hailed The Diamond, claiming that Poirier has wins over future Hall of Famers like Jim Miller, Eddie Alvarez, Anthony Pettis, Max Holloway and now Conor McGregor.

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Khabib Nurmagomedov to meet Dana White again

Apart from that, the unbeaten Russian also dropped some facts about future title fights. While Khabib Nurmagomedov revealed that he’s meeting Dana White once again later in February, the bigger news was that the promotion is planning another lightweight title fight. However, while The Eagle knows that the title bout will take place in mid-2021, he doesn’t know the fighters colliding for the title, which he could possibly vacate in the near future.

Khabib Nurmagomedov also said that the UFC supremo is currently figuring something out, which could possibly be made clear by their next meeting. “When I told him the lightweight division needs to move on, he told me he isn’t done. He said to me, ‘When you fly to Vegas at the end of February, we’ll sit down and talk.’ Dana needs to make some kind of decision. But whatever the decision, I’ll agree with it,” he added.

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