“This was his father’s wish” Dana White has a feeling that Khabib Nurmagomedov will go for 30-0


“This was his father’s wish” Dana White has a feeling that Khabib Nurmagomedov will go for 30-0
Khabib Nurmagomedov

The UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov announced his retirement after defending his title against Justin Gaethje in Abu Dhabi at UFC 254. It was a shock decision from the 32-year-old, who had previously spoken of his plan to reach 30-0, but speaking to his mother after his father’s death earlier this year, Khabib decided to hang up his gloves earlier than planned.

UFC president Dana White thinks Khabib will be tempted back into the Octagon to complete his goal to reach 30-0.

“I’ll tell you this and I haven’t told anybody this yet, but Khabib and I have been talking,’ White told the Zach Gelb Show. “He was completely emotional that night when he got through that fight. I have a feeling that he might go for 30-0.

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“I do [think he’s coming back]. I think that he’s not going to retire. His dad wanted him to get to 30-0 and I think he wants to honor his dad’s wish,” said Dana White at this Saturday post fight media interaction.

There had been much talk about Khabib’s 30th and final fight being against former welterweight and middleweight champion Georges St-Pierre, which would remain the most appealing bout for him.

Khabib Nurmagomedov Hints At Retirement After Going 30-0

Khabib Nurmagomedov and GSP

“Honestly, I don’t know,” Nurmagomedov said to Yahoo! Sports (transcriptions via The Body Lock). “30-0 is going to be great. It’s looking good, it sounds good.”

Khabib continued to say that he will always go down in history for beating Conor. He wants to build on that legacy.

“Okay, I finish Justin Gaethje, I finish one more guy, I dominate him—I think my name is going to be always in history,” Nurmagomedov said. “I think already my name is going to be in history because two years ago what happened [against McGregor] is never going to be forgotten. Even after 50 years, people are going to watch this fight and be impressed. This is like when Muhammad Ali fought [Joe] Frazier in Manila. People never forget this fight.”

I’m already in history but I need legacy. For legacy, Justin Gaethje is a great opponent right now,” he continued. It’s not confirmed that Khabib is going for 30-0 but with this comment we can assume that khabib would return in UFC.

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