Khabib Nurmagomedov has not closed the door on a return to the UFC, telling Dana White he could come back should “something spectacular” entice him after watching both lightweight bouts at next week’s UFC 257 in Abu Dhabi.
The undefeated champion, 32, retired in October immediately following his victory against Justin Gaethje at UFC 254, which also took place in the capital. Nurmagomedov's father had died in July, with the 29-0 fighter saying he promised his mother that he would not compete again.
White met with Nurmagomedov at UAE Warriors 15 on Friday, where they discussed his possible return.
Speaking to ESPN early Sunday on the sidelines of UFC Fight Night: Holloway vs Kattar - the first of three events on the latest Fight Island series in Abu Dhabi - White said: “Basically, the way he feels right now is that he’s accomplished everything that he set out to accomplish.
“He thought that [Charles] Oliveira looked really good in his fight against Tony Ferguson. Next Saturday, we have the McGregor-Poirier fight and [Michael] Chandler and [Dan] Hooker on there.
“His words to me were, ‘I’m going to watch this fight.’ He said, ‘I would never tie up the division, hold the belt, keep the belt away from anybody else. These guys do something spectacular, show me something spectacular, and make me want to come back and fight.’
“So I have a feeling that if somebody delivers - it could be on the co-main event or the main event - and like I said he thought Oliveira looked good. Two fights coming up, Oliveira looked good, if these guys can do something special, Khabib will fight them.”
White added: “He’s the best in the world right now. His best performance was against Gaethje with all that stuff [his father’s death] going on. He just needed time to clear his head and if these guys do what I think they’re going do next weekend, it sounds like he might be interested in fighting one of them.”
UFC 257, the finale to Fight Island Triple Header, features promotional debutant and three-time Bellator champion Chandler against Hooker. The headline bout pits against one another former champion McGregor in a rematch against former interim title-holder Poirier.
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Khabib Nurmagomedov (left) in conversation with UFC president Dana White at the UAE Warriors 15 cage side at the Jiu-Jitsu Arena on Friday, January 15, 2021 -
Khabib Nurmagomedov and Abdulmunam Al Hashemi, chairman of Palms Sports during the UAE Warriors 15 at the Jiu-Jitsu Arena on Friday, January 15, 2021. -
Bruno Machado lands one on Mickael Lebout in the Lightweight title fight at the UAE Warriors 15 on Friday, January 15, 2021. Courtesy UAE Warriors -
Bruno Machado has Mickael Lebout cornered in the Lightweight title fight in the UAE Warriors 15 at the Jiu-Jitsu Arena on Friday, January 15, 2021. Courtesy UAE Warriors -
Russian Rinat Fakhretdinov took just 57 seconds to knock out Canadian Eric Spicely with this stunning right hander in the UAE Warriors 15 Middleweight bout at the Jiu-Jitsu Arena on Friday, January 15, 2021. Courtesy UAE Warriors -
Carlston Harris of Guyana has Russian Saygid Izagakhmaev in a submissive choke in the UAE Warriors 15 at the Jiu-Jitsu Arena on Friday, January 15, 2021. Courtesy UAE Warriors -
Canadian Jesse Arnett on the attack against Algerian Elias Boudegzdame in the Catchweight 64kg in the UAE Warriors 15 at the Jiu-Jitsu Arena on Friday, January 15, 2021. Courtesy UAE Warriors -
Bruno Machado receives his award from chairman of Palms Sports Abdulmunam Al Hashemi in the UAE Warriors 15 at the Jiu-Jitsu Arena on Friday, January 15, 2021. Courtesy UAE Warriors -
Muin Gafurov of Tajikistan lands a flying knee on Walter Zamora of Costa Rica in the featherweight in the UAE Warriors 15 at the Jiu-Jitsu Arena on Friday, January 15, 2021. Courtesy UAE Warriors -
Portuguese Leandro Gomes receives his award from Palms Sports managing director Fouad Darwish after his win against Moroccan Mohamed Karim in the Catchweight 64kg in the UAE Warriors 15 at the Jiu-Jitsu Arena on Friday, January 15, 2021. Courtesy UAE Warriors
