If you’re waiting for the UFC to put the lightweight title on the line, keep waiting.
Four months after Khabib Nurmagomedov announced his retirement from competition after a successful title defense against Justin Gaethje at UFC 254, “The Eagle” is still officially listed as the 155 pound UFC champion. Nurmagomedov ended his career after submitting Gaethje in the second round, ending with a 29-0 record, and has since said he does not expect to fight again.
As insistent as the opposite is UFC president Dana White, who has repeatedly pressured Nurmagomedov to continue his fighting career. After a meeting between the two in Abu Dhabi before UFC 257 last month, White said he was told by Nurmagomedov that if one of the four highest-ranked lightweights (Dustin Poirier, Conor McGregor, Dan Hooker and Michael Chandler) fought in the event “can do something special”, then the champion would consider returning to the action.
Poirier submitted McGregor in the second round, and Chandler overcame Hooker on his UFC debut, but the result didn’t seem to shake Nurmagomedov’s resolve. In a recent interview, he said that Poirier “deserves to be champion” and that the lightweight should move on. Branco, for his part, said that if Nurmagomedov did not want to defend the belt, he would not pressure.
Speaking to Complex, White suggested a scenario in which one of the remaining main candidates would eventually claim the title.
“Who deserves to be champion is the one who comes out on top of this tournament,” said White. “Khabib beat Conor. Khabib destroyed Dustin. Khabib is the man. He’s the champion, he’s the guy. If you look at the guys who deserve to be there, they will win in the top 5. You have Poirier, Gaethje, [Charles] Oliveira, Chandler and you still have Tony Ferguson and Conor in the mix too. “
Despite the light field, White did not move when asked point-blank whether the UFC left Nurmagomedov,
“No. We don’t,” said White. “Khabib is the champion. Khabib is coming to Las Vegas. He and I are going to have dinner and talk and see what’s next.”
White said on several occasions that the ideal match for Nurmagomedov would be a second fight with McGregor. The two rivals were the main attraction of UFC 229 in October 2018, an event that generated the largest number of pay-per-view purchases in the company’s history.
Check out the full interview below.