Khabib Nurmagomedov has closed the door on a potential return to the UFC following his retirement last year.
Back at UFC 254, Khabib successfully defended the UFC lightweight title courtesy of a beautiful submission win over Justin Gaethje.
In the immediate aftermath of the fight, Nurmagomedov emotionally declared that he would be retiring from mixed martial arts at the request of his mother – and following the death of his father a few months prior.
Khabib gone for good?
Still, even after walking away, UFC president Dana White seemed determined to bring him back with the hope being that he could get Khabib to push for 30-0.
His efforts were unsuccessful but that hasn’t stopped the masses from holding out hope he could change his mind one day.
Unfortunately, Nurmagomedov made it crystal clear that he wasn’t thinking about a return during a recent interview with RT Sport.
“I have no desire to come back, and I don’t think I ever will,” Nurmagomedov said.
When we’re talking about the best to ever compete in the Ultimate Fighting Championship it’s impossible not to include Khabib in the conversation. ‘The Eagle’ may not have the most title defences and he might not have been the most active, but he’s beat some of the very best lightweights of his generation including Edson Barboza, Dustin Poirier, Conor McGregor and Gaethje.
Khabib did so with the kind of ruthless efficiency that most fighters can only dream of as he walked through just about everyone that stepped into the cage with him.
Thankfully for fans the lightweight division is continuing to heating up and while it’d be even better if Khabib was around, nobody can begrudge the decision he’s made.
The next big bout on the 155-pound calendar is undoubtedly going to come at UFC 264 when Conor McGregor battles Dustin Poirier in their trilogy showdown in Las Vegas.
Featured image credit: Getty
