UFC Prexy Eager To Talk To Khabib Nurmagomedov About Return, McGregor Rematch

UFC president Dana White is hoping to convince undefeated lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov to come out of retirement when he meets the Russian later this week in Abu Dhabi.

The mixed martial artist remains as the promotion's 155-pound kingpin despite announcing his retirement from the sport following his win over Justin Gaethje at UFC 254 last October.

Nurmagomedov, who has a perfect 29-0 record, made it clear that he does not intend to strap on four-ounce gloves again.

White, however, is not willing to give up and believes Nurmagomedov will return to the Octagon once again.

The company head honcho is willing to "press" the Russian hard in order to convince him to make a comeback for at least one more bout, especially if the opponent could be his arch-nemesis Conor McGregor.

"I'm obviously meeting with him because I think that he should fight again," White told ESPN. "Look at what he did to Justin Gaethje [in October]. Look at what he's done to every opponent he has faced... I think he should fight again and I'm going to press him as hard as I can for one more."

Nurmagomedov's decision to call it a day came after his coach and father Abdulmanap died of heart complications made worse by the coronavirus last year. He then promised his mother that he would not fight again.

White is keen to see Nurmagomedov set foot inside the UFC cage once more and made no secret of the organization’s desire to book a rematch between him and McGregor.

The Irishman is currently preparing for his second encounter against Dustin Poirier, which will take place on Jan. 23 on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi.

UFC 257 remains the main focus for White at the moment, but he sees no reason why McGregor cannot face Nurmagomedov if the latter decides to unretire.

"As a promoter, you always want to see the best guys in the world, but at the same time, when a guy wants to retire, he probably should," White said. "The difference with a guy like Khabib is he's been through so much, and losing his dad was a major blow to him. Yet, his dad wanted him to hit 30-0.”

"No matter what you think of Conor personally, Conor McGregor is not only one of the best in the world, but one of the best to ever do it," he added. "And right now, he's as focused as he's ever been. I don't know if this is going to be the same Conor after the Poirier fight, but if this Conor sticks around for the next year, how do you not do Khabib vs. Conor again?"