Undefeated UFC Lightweight Champion Khabib Nurmagomedov left the door open for a 30th fight in the Octagon.
Promotion Chairman Dana White said if the two lightweight fights next week – Conor McGregor vs. Dustin Poirier and Dan Hooker vs. Michael Chandler – being spectacular, Nurmagomedov would consider coming back to fight one of the winners.
“If these guys can do something special, Khabib will fight them,” White said Saturday at UFC Fight Night: Holloway vs. Kattar broadcast from Abu Dhabi.
Nurmagomedov has a chance of going a perfect 30-0 with a win in a possible comeback fight.
Nurmagomedov, one of the most prominent Muslim athletes in the world, and White met backstage at a UAE Warriors MMA event Friday night in Abu Dhabi co-promoted by Nurmagomedov’s new Eagle FC organization.
In October, Nurmagomedov surprisingly announced his retirement after a second round win over Justin Gaethje at UFC 254. Leading up to that fight, Nurmagomedov mourned the death of his father last summer as a result of complications from COVID-19. Nurmagomedov’s father, Abdulmanap, was also his head coach and close confidant.
Nurmagomedov (29-0) is ESPN’s highest ranked pound-for-pound fighter in the world. The native of Dagestan, an autonomous republic of Russia, has won all 13 of his UFC fights, a record for the most consecutive UFC lightweight victories. Nurmagomedov, 32, holds the longest lightweight title reign in UFC history and equals the most UFC lightweight title defenses (3). He defeated former champions Gaethje, McGregor, Poirier and Rafael dos Anjos.