Former UFC Lightweight Champion Khabib Nurmagomedov has revealed the one thing that could convince him to return to the Octagon.
“The Eagle” announced his retirement following his victory over Justin Gaethje at UFC 254 last October. He left the sport having amassed an unbeaten 29-0 record. His manager, Ali Abdelaziz, recently revealed that the Russian had been offered a blockbuster crossover fight against boxing’s biggest superstar Floyd Mayweather.
“Khabib got offered $100 million after he was retired to fight Floyd Mayweather,” Abdelaziz said in a recent appearance on the Hotboxin’ with Mike Tyson podcast.
Abdelaziz, who is the CEO of Dominance MMA, went on to explain why Khabib turned down the offer. He also quoted the one thing the former champ said needs to happen for him to return to fighting.
“You can ask everybody. Khabib said, ‘No, I’m retired. I told my mother I’m retired. I’m going to keep my word to my mother. If my mother told me to fight again, maybe I will. But right now, she told me not to fight.’”
Before calling an end to his illustrious career, Khabib had fought and beaten some of the biggest names in the sport.
Having beaten the likes of Rafael dos Anjos, Michael Johnson and Edson Barboza, Khabib won the UFC’s 155-pound belt after defeating Al Iaquinta at UFC 223.
After defending his title against Gaethje, Dustin Poirier and Conor McGregor, which headlined UFC 229, the highest-selling pay-per-view in UFC history, Khabib retired with his name firmly in the conversation for the greatest of all time.
But despite his incredible success in MMA and a remarkably high money offer, ‘The Eagle’ chose not to venture into the boxing ring. However, during a recent interview with RT Sports, Khabib admitted the opportunity was worth considering.
“The enticement is always there,” Nurmagomedov said when asked if he was tempted to accept a fight with Mayweather. “There were such discussions with Saudi Arabia. They wanted me to fight there. I don’t know about $100 million. That was not the exact amount but about that.”
Whilst it seems unlikely we’ll see Khabib return to the cage for a 30th appearance, the Russian has certainly provided a slight glimmer of hope for MMA fans to hang on to.
How do you think a boxing match between Khabib and Floyd Mayweather would go?
