After Dana White meeting, Khabib Nurmagemodeov says UFC fights 'not a part of my plans'
It doesn’t sound like Khabib Nurmagomedov is particularly interested about which lightweight puts on the best show at UFC 257.
Nurmagomedov (29-0 MMA, 13-0 UFC) is still recognized by the UFC as lightweight champion despite announcing his retirement nearly three months ago. At this past Saturday’s UFC on ABC 1, UFC president Dana White proclaimed that during a meeting in Abu Dhabi, Nurmagomedov expressed being open to returning to the octagon. If someone did something spectacular this Saturday, he could potentially be persuaded to fight.
On Wednesday, Nurmagomedov’s first interview since meeting with White surfaced. In a video produced by Russian outlet Sport24, Nurmagomedov would not answer specific questions about the UFC 257 main event between Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier or the Michael Chandler vs. Dan Hooker co-headliner, and instead strongly suggested a fight is not in his plans.
“There must be some motivation, some hunger,” Nurmagomedov said in Russian, according to English subtitles. “If you’re not hungry, you know, I’ve been in sports for so many years. I’ve been doing it all my life. I have achieved almost everything in this sport, and there isn’t someone who I would like to fight now.
“I know that there are many fighters who would like to earn money, who strive for something. What should I do? A lot of people don’t want to understand my side. I don’t see that yet.”
Nurmagomedov, who was in Abu Dhabi cornering cousin Umar Nurmagomedov for his submission win over Sergey Morozov at Wednesday’s UFC on ESPN 20, says he has other things taking up his time right now, including his Eagle Fighting Championships promotion. Training for a fight simply isn’t on his plate.
“If we talk about all my business projects, I have so much to do that is planned,” Nurmagomedov said. “And fights are not in these plans.
“I train for myself. The biggest thing that gives me pleasure is training. I enjoy when I wrestle, run, spar, work on pads, when I work on the punch bags. This is what I have been doing all my life, and I will continue to train constantly, as well. But if we talk about the fights, they are not a part of my plans.”
Nurmagomedov acknowledged the rampant speculation he might return and also gave a nod to the fact that he’s not shutting the door on potentially returning in the distant future. But not now.
“They constantly discuss, ‘He will come back, he will not come back,'” Nurmagomedov said. “You know, today we have 2021. A year ago it was 2020. The same time, January, and so much has happened. We don’t know what will happen in 2022, 2023, you know, so let’s not talk about it. No one knows what will happen tomorrow.
“I don’t even have any plans for the UFC in the near future. I don’t have any thoughts about preparing for the fight.”
