Khabib Nurmagomedov retired after becoming the undisputed UFC lightweight champion at UFC 254, but UFC President Dana White doesn’t think that he’ll stay retired for long.
White believes that Nurmagomedov will return to reach the 30-0 mark.
“Well, he didn’t say that he’ll fight, but he didn’t say no,” White said after UFC Vegas 12 (via Simon Head & Ken Hathaway of MMA Junkie). “He’s considering the 30-0. His father wanted it and I think that he was super-emotional. (He) had the mumps, measles or whatever, broken toe, trained on a stationary bike for that fight, and then came in and fought, and he was super-emotional.”
Nurmagomedov currently sits at 29-0 and that includes three successful lightweight title defenses.
The UFC President also states that the retired Nurmagomedov is still the lightweight champion at this time.
“He’s still the champ – there’s no vacant title open right now, or no interim title happening. He’s the champ and we’ll give him some time to figure out what he wants to do. … I feel pretty good (about it). He said he was going to talk with his mother," says White.
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