Ever since Khabib Nurmagomedov retired prematurely, UFC fans have been urging and appealing while waiting in hope to see The Eagle back in the octagon again. But it has all been in vain. That said, the undefeated Dagestani did consider it at one point, only to be deterred for good after witnessing the rematch between Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier at UFC 257.
Khabib had defeated both Conor and Dustin soundly. He fought Dustin for the interim title and even though the Louisiana native almost got him with a trademark guillotine, Khabib managed to sneak out a win. The Conor fight, on the other hand, was a one-sided affair, though the Irishman had fared much better than many of Khabib’s other opponents.
So, when Dustin and Conor fought at UFC 257, The Eagle was keeping a keen eye on the bout, and for good reasons. In an interview from 2023, Khabib’s coach Javier Mendez claimed that there was a glimmer of hope for his return in the first few months of retirement. Khabib had told him: “If someone shows me something spectacular, then maybe I’ll come back.”
Khabib had hoped to see that “spectacular” sign during the bout between his former opponents at UFC 257. However, the Dagestani fighter witnessed Conor looking out of his element, while Dustin knocked the Irishman out with ease despite no visible improvements in his game either. There were some spicy exchanges during the fight but it wasn’t nearly enough to make Khabib change his mind. Mendez had revealed Khabib’s thoughts from the time.
Almost as disappointed as the fans that the doors had truly been closed for his prized pupil’s return, Mendez, stated, “It was Conor vs. Poirier that night, but it did not get Khabib excited.”
Around this time, there were also unsubstantiated reports about Khabib keeping himself in the USADA testing pool for eight months. Mendez confirmed it but insisted that after UFC 257, Khabib had just about had enough of the testing. The coach claimed Khabib rang up Dana White and told him, “I don’t want to test anymore, and I’m not coming back.”
But what about money? Did the UFC offer him enough to consider it any further? Khabib was one of, if not the biggest draws in the sport when he decided to hang up his gloves. So naturally, Dana White tried to convince him to return and apparently, there were some 8-figure paychecks involved.
According to Khabib’s close friend, Daniel Cormier, he was offered $40 million but the former lightweight champ outright rejected it.
Khabib had passed the torch to Islam
Cormier wasn’t sure if the offer was for one or multiple fights. But if Khabib wasn’t coming back for that, then there was very little left to motivate him with. Besides, once Khabib was officially done, he made it a point to pass on the torch to Islam Makhachev and ensure he got to the lightweight title.
It’s why once Islam defeated Charles Oliveira at UFC 284, Khabib took a backseat, even as a coach. During Islam’s first few title defenses, Khabib wasn’t even present at the venue.
Khabib used to get bugged by the media asking the same ‘comeback’ questions so much that he didn’t want his presence to take the limelight away from Islam. So, it was always going to be unlikely that he would come back and take the torch back from Makhachev.
It has been five years since he retired. And in this time, Khabib has done things far more important to him than fighting. As a coach, Khabib has ensured that his father’s dream of having multiple world champions in promotions across the globe is now a reality.
And he hopes to continue with this dream until the day fighters like Islam, Umar, and Usman Nurmagomedov call it a day, and then take charge to pass on the mantle to the next generation of champions.
