Dana White says he will give Khabib Nurmagomedov time to decide if he wants to stay retired, although he has a “good feeling” the lightweight champion will return to the UFC, while he said also that Conor McGregor’s comeback against Dustin Poirier is signed off.
The undefeated Nurmagomedov, 32, made the shock announcement that he was stepping away from the sport immediately following his title defence last week against Justin Gaethje at UFC 254 in Abu Dhabi – the concluding event on "Return to Fight Island".
Competing for the first time since his father's death in July, the Dagestan native moved to 29-0 and had been expected to then aim for 30-0 – as his father had wished.
However, an emotional Nurmagomedov, who overcame a series of setbacks in preparation for UFC 254, said he had promised his mother that Gaethje would be his final fight.
Then, last week, White told CBC Sports that he had spoken to Nurmagomedov and suspected he would be back for one more bout. On Sunday, following the UFC’s latest Fight Night in Las Vegas, the promotion’s president was asked by reporters about that conversation with Nurmagomedov.
“He didn’t say that he’ll fight or whatever, but he didn’t say no,” White said. “He’s considering the 30 and O; his father wanted it. And I think he was super emotional [at UFC 254], had the mumps, measles or whatever, a broken toe, trained on a stationary bike for that fight and then came in and fought.
“He’s still the champ. There’s no vacant title open right now or no interim title happening. He’s the champ and we’ll give him some time to figure out what he wants to do.”
Asked if he was confident Nurmagomedov would return, White said: “I feel pretty good. He said he was going to talk with his mother.”
McGregor v Poirier 'done'
White also gave an update on McGregor-Poirier, which is slated for January 23 and set to take place at . A venue for the clash has yet to be confirmed, though.
“The fight’s done,” White said. “I think so. As far as I know, it’s done.”
White had news too on Israel Adesanya’s future, with the middleweight champion to move up to light heavyweight to take on current belt-holder Jan Blachowicz.
Adesanya, who defended his title in superb fashion against Paulo Costa at UFC 253 in Abu Dhabi on September 27, was seemingly set for a rematch with Robert Whittaker. The former champion, the division's No 1-ranked contender, defeated No 3 Jared Cannonier by unanimous decision at UFC 254.
However, White said: “Listen, when the fight was over on Fight Island, the last fight, I was like I’m going to have to sit down with this kid and convince him on why he needs to fight Whittaker. Whittaker comes out and says he doesn’t want to fight him. Craziest [stuff] I’ve ever seen.
“So there’s no arguing with Israel now. I thought Whittaker deserved the shot and Whittaker doesn’t want it, so we’ll let him do it.”
Blachowicz was crowned the new light heavyweight champion at UFC 253, when he defeated Dominick Reyes by second-round TKO in a battle for the vacant belt. White said there is no timeline or location yet for Adesanya-Blachowicz.
Habib El Qalb
Assi Al Hallani
(Rotana)
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Profile of Foodics
Founders: Ahmad AlZaini and Mosab AlOthmani
Based: Riyadh
Sector: Software
Employees: 150
Amount raised: $8m through seed and Series A - Series B raise ongoing
Funders: Raed Advanced Investment Co, Al-Riyadh Al Walid Investment Co, 500 Falcons, SWM Investment, AlShoaibah SPV, Faith Capital, Technology Investments Co, Savour Holding, Future Resources, Derayah Custody Co.
UAE v Gibraltar
What: International friendly
When: 7pm kick off
Where: Rugby Park, Dubai Sports City
Admission: Free
Online: The match will be broadcast live on Dubai Exiles’ Facebook page
UAE squad: Lucas Waddington (Dubai Exiles), Gio Fourie (Exiles), Craig Nutt (Abu Dhabi Harlequins), Phil Brady (Harlequins), Daniel Perry (Dubai Hurricanes), Esekaia Dranibota (Harlequins), Matt Mills (Exiles), Jaen Botes (Exiles), Kristian Stinson (Exiles), Murray Reason (Abu Dhabi Saracens), Dave Knight (Hurricanes), Ross Samson (Jebel Ali Dragons), DuRandt Gerber (Exiles), Saki Naisau (Dragons), Andrew Powell (Hurricanes), Emosi Vacanau (Harlequins), Niko Volavola (Dragons), Matt Richards (Dragons), Luke Stevenson (Harlequins), Josh Ives (Dubai Sports City Eagles), Sean Stevens (Saracens), Thinus Steyn (Exiles)
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl turbo
Power: 201hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 320Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 6-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 8.7L/100km
Price: Dh133,900
On sale: now
The%20specs
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Xpanceo
Started: 2018
Founders: Roman Axelrod, Valentyn Volkov
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: Smart contact lenses, augmented/virtual reality
Funding: $40 million
Investor: Opportunity Venture (Asia)
Know your Camel lingo
The bairaq is a competition for the best herd of 50 camels, named for the banner its winner takes home
Namoos - a word of congratulations reserved for falconry competitions, camel races and camel pageants. It best translates as 'the pride of victory' - and for competitors, it is priceless
Asayel camels - sleek, short-haired hound-like racers
Majahim - chocolate-brown camels that can grow to weigh two tonnes. They were only valued for milk until camel pageantry took off in the 1990s
Millions Street - the thoroughfare where camels are led and where white 4x4s throng throughout the festival
The President's Cake
Director: Hasan Hadi
Starring: Baneen Ahmad Nayyef, Waheed Thabet Khreibat, Sajad Mohamad Qasem
Rating: 4/5
Recipe
Garlicky shrimp in olive oil
Gambas Al Ajillo
Preparation time: 5 to 10 minutes
Cooking time: 5 minutes
Serves 4
Ingredients
180ml extra virgin olive oil; 4 to 5 large cloves of garlic, minced or pureed (or 3 to 4 garlic scapes, roughly chopped); 1 or 2 small hot red chillies, dried (or ¼ teaspoon dried red chilli flakes); 400g raw prawns, deveined, heads removed and tails left intact; a generous splash of sweet chilli vinegar; sea salt flakes for seasoning; a small handful of fresh flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
Method
▶ Heat the oil in a terracotta dish or frying pan. Once the oil is sizzling hot, add the garlic and chilli, stirring continuously for about 10 seconds until golden and aromatic.
▶ Add a splash of sweet chilli vinegar and as it vigorously simmers, releasing perfumed aromas, add the prawns and cook, stirring a few times.
▶ Once the prawns turn pink, after 1 or 2 minutes of cooking, remove from the heat and season with sea salt flakes.
▶ Once the prawns are cool enough to eat, scatter with parsley and serve with small forks or toothpicks as the perfect sharing starter. Finish off with crusty bread to soak up all that flavour-infused olive oil.
The specs: 2019 BMW i8 Roadster
Price, base: Dh708,750
Engine: 1.5L three-cylinder petrol, plus 11.6 kWh lithium-ion battery
Transmission: Six-speed automatic
Power: 374hp (total)
Torque: 570Nm (total)
Fuel economy, combined: 2.0L / 100km
The Buckingham Murders
Starring: Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ash Tandon, Prabhleen Sandhu
Director: Hansal Mehta
Rating: 4 / 5
MATCH INFO
England 19 (Try: Tuilagi; Cons: Farrell; Pens: Ford (4)
New Zealand 7 (Try: Savea; Con: Mo'unga)
The specs: 2018 Harley-Davidson Fat Boy
Price, base / as tested Dh97,600
Engine 1,745cc Milwaukee-Eight v-twin engine
Transmission Six-speed gearbox
Power 78hp @ 5,250rpm
Torque 145Nm @ 3,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined 5.0L / 100km (estimate)
Getting there
Flydubai flies direct from Dubai to Tbilisi from Dh1,025 return including taxes
