Khabib Nurmagomedov Officially Retires; Top Contenders Set To Battle For Vacant UFC Lightweight Title

After months of speculation and uncertainty, Khabib Nurmagomedov has finally officially retired.

UFC president Dana White took to social media on Thursday evening to announce that Nurmagomedov, the former lightweight champion, has called it a career.

He finishes with an unblemished 29-0 professional record and is currently the UFC’s No.1-ranked pound-for-pound fighter.

“29-0 it is. He is [100 percent] officially retired. It was incredible to watch you work, thank you for everything and enjoy whatever is next my friend,” White said.

Nurmagomedov stunned the mixed martial arts world back in October 2020 when he suddenly announced his retirement at the conclusion of UFC 254, after successfully defending his belt against Justin Gaethje.

Since then, people have speculated whether or not “The Eagle” would honor his late father’s wishes and come back for a historic 30th victory.

Those close to him spoke about who could potentially lure him back into the Octagon, naming former two-division champion Georges St-Pierre as a prime candidate.

Ultimately, neither GSP nor a rematch with Conor McGregor could bring Nurmagomedov back.

Now, the UFC’s 155-pound championship is up for grabs, and the the promotion has already booked the two men to battle for the newly-vacated lightweight throne.

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Following the official announcement of Khabib’s retirement, the UFC has reportedly booked a lightweight championship match between No. 3-ranked lightweight contender Charles Oliveira and No. 4-seeded contender Michael Chandler. The two are expected to meet at UFC 262 on May 15th.

Oliveira is currently riding an eight-fight winning streak, with his most recent win coming against former interim champion Tony Ferguson.

The Brazilian also has wins over the likes of Kevin Lee, Jared Gordon, Jim Miller and Clay Guida on that eight-fight stretch.

Chandler, meanwhile, put on quite the performance in his UFC debut at UFC 257, knocking out Top 5-ranked contender Dan Hooker to break into the rankings.

The American is a former three-time Bellator lightweight champion and has wins over former UFC champions Benson Henderson and Eddie Alvarez.

With Oliveira and Chandler booked for the vacant title, it’s interesting to see what will be the next steps for other lightweights such as Dustin Poirier and Gaethje.

Porier is coming off a huge win over McGregor at UFC 257, while Gaethje hasn’t seen action since losing to Nurmagomedov.

With the lightweight division being one of the UFC’s most stacked, there certainly won’t be any shortage of intriguing matchups to make moving forward.