Khabib Nurmagomedov confirms there's 'no chance' of him ever returning to the UFC as he chases a different form of greatness
10/01/2024 11:43 AM
Four years after he famously laid down his gloves in the octagon, the legendary Khabib Nurmagomedov wants to put a stop to speculation that he could one day return to UFC action.
Yet 'The Eagle' doesn't want his gargantuan global fanbase to fret, as there's now a much bigger goal in his sights; to secure the legacy of his father with a complete dynasty of MMA champions.
Khabib Nurmagomedov confirms there's 'no chance' of a return to MMA action
Earlier this week, thousands of MMA and business fanatics attended an event hosted by iNews out in Indonesia, with former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov being introduced as the special guest of the evening.
The event was livestreamed online and whilst the full 76-minute video can be watched in full on YouTube, most of the conference focused on 'Impactful Steps' throughout his life, both personal and professional.
Towards the end of the seminar, the conference host would ask Nurmagomedov a series of questions submitted by fans and to the surprise of absolutely no one; the first question was 'Will you return to the octagon?'
Never one to give his fanbase a false sense of hope that a return could be imminent, the 29-0 veteran would simply state "There is no chance, none. Not even 1%, minus [chance]."
Luckily, Khabib looked to reassure fans that not only will they never truly miss him, but that the global MMA community will never be too far away from his next iteration coming into title contention.
"If you guys need champions, I'm helping my brothers to become champions… We have Islam [Makhachev] as a champion, we have Umar [Nurmagomedov] as the next contender, we have Usman [Nurmagomedov] as champion – we have a lot of champions.
"You guys are never going to miss me because in our team and our gym, we create champions – you guys are always going to have champions, don't worry."
Khabib confirms title fight offer has been made to Islam Makhachev for January
Whilst the legendary 'Eagle' says that there's 'no chance' of him ever competing again, MMA fans have become somewhat used to seeing him at events, not in the octagon, but in the corner of his countless brethren.
In fact, Nurmagomedov is also now breaking fight news himself, having revealed earlier in the week that the UFC has now made an offer to lightweight champion Islam Makhachev regarding his next title defense.
"UFC offered us a fight already, in January. We accepted it," Nurmagomedov explained in an interview with Ushatayka.
"UFC will announce very soon where it will take place and who will be Islam's opponent. I will not make an announcement myself, but I can say that we are focused on January.
"This sport is growing very quickly. Lots of new youngsters emerging. There will always be good opponents for Islam. Islam is not only a champion now. Now he is the best fighter pound for pound."
Makhachev's next opponent is expected to be a rematch against Arman Tsarukyan, with Dana White having also confirmed that there are no plans to hold an interim title fight whilst the Russian recovers from a hand injury.
