Khabib ends Dana White’s hopes of spectacular UFC return after Georges St-Pierre fight offer with ‘no desire’ to fight
FUTURE UFC Hall-of-Famer Khabib Nurmagomedov has shut down talk of a blockbuster return to the octagon.
The Russian wrecking machine retired from mixed martial arts last October after his second-round submission victory over Justin Gaethje, which he went into mourning the loss of his father.
UFC supremo Dana White tried his best to convince the 32-year-old to perform a U-turn but was unsuccessful in his bid to lure him back to the cage.
And the former pound-for-pound king is adamant his fighting days are permanently behind him, saying: "I have no desire to come back, and I don't think I ever will."
Nurmagomedov wanted to close out his career with a historic fight against former two-division champion Georges St-Pierre before his father's passing.
The UFC, however, refused to make the fight over fears GSP might vacate the lightweight title.
But according to Nurmagomedov's manager Ali Abdelaziz, a legacy-defining fight against the Canadian was recently on the cards for the Dagestani destroyer.
During an appearance on the Hotboxin' with Mike Tyson podcast last month, the Dominance MMA chief said: "Two weeks ago, (or) 10 days ago, Dana White called me.
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"He said, 'Georges St-Pierre, he said he'll fight Khabib in a non-title fight at 165 pounds.'
"In a way, we've been waiting for Georges. I like Georges. He's my friend. I like Georges.
"We've been waiting for Georges for four or five years. 'I'm coming. I'm not coming.'
"Now, (St-Pierre) said, 'Hey, Khabib is retired. I'm retired. What about coming back and fighting Khabib now?'"
The prospect of lacing up his gloves again doesn't appeal to Nurmagomedov at this moment in time.
He told ESPN: “(I never contemplated a return after retiring). Dana called this official, but I retired like four, six months ago.
“It’s very funny. Dana told me when he posted that someone commented saying, ‘Hey, he retired not today, he retired about five months ago,’ and I was like it’s funny.
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"We had some conversations with Dana a couple of times and like two days ago we meet with him to talk like two real men.
"We had a very good conversation with them, good dinner, and I really appreciated him not only for me, but all the sport."
He added: “It’s very hard when you have power, when you’re the best in the world, when you’re famous, have money and say to everything like this, ‘No.'
"It’s very hard. People maybe will never understand me, but I really hope they’re going to support my decision because everyone has their views.
“My view and my relationship with my mother, I feel like I have to stop because I feel like in every fight, every training camp, this takes some age away from my mother.
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"And it’s like what do I have to do? I came to this sport to show who I am and became the best, I’m world champion, and pound-for-pound No. 1. I defended my title three times.
" I defended my title in biggest fight of UFC history. What else? Only money-fights, but I don’t need money.”
