This past Saturday at UFC 254, Khabib Nurmagomedov defeated Justin Gaethje to retain his lightweight championship of the world. It was an emotional ending for Nurmagomedov who fought for the first time since his father had passed away.
Following the fight, Nurmagomedov laid his gloves in the middle of the octagon and announced his retirement. Many in the UFC community were not expecting this to happen. Nurmagomedov’s father’s dream had been for him to go 30-0 then retire.
However, Khabib said that he promised his mother that UFC 254 would be his last fight. Just a few days later, and we are hearing that he might not be done. Since the announcement, UFC President Dana White has had a chance to talk with Nurmagomedov.
White seems to think Khabib might have been in the moment. He told CBS Sports Zach Gelb, “Khabib and I have been talking. He was completely emotional that night when he got through that fight. I have a feeling that he might go for 30-0.”
The UFC’s options for Khabib
There are a few options for the UFC when it comes to Khabib Nurmagomedov and his 30th fight. However, I think that there is one clear fight for him to cap off his career and his legacy. That would be a fight with Georges St. Pierre.
GSP is known as arguably the greatest of all time. He was a dominant champion in the welterweight division, then he moved up to capture the UFC middleweight title. He’s always been interested in coming out of retirement for the Nurmagomedov fight.
GSP recently told ESPN’s Ariel Helwani that he was happy for Khabib after the retirement. However, he said that his door would be open if Khabib was interested in coming back and facing him. That could very well be the case if what White’s saying comes true.
Of course, the UFC could always try to book the Conor McGregor rematch. However, Khabib has already won that war in his eyes. A fight with GSP would be a legacy fight for both men and a very rare opportunity for fight fans around the globe to see arguably the two greatest of all time go head to head.