Dana White Confirms He’s to Meet With Khabib Nurmagomedov

It’s not clear yet what Khabib Nurmagomedov plans to discuss with Dana White. But, the UFC President has confirmed he’s going to meet with the retired, lightweight champ soon.

White confirms plans for meeting

As you likely know, after Nurmagomedov choked out Justin Gaethje at UFC 254 in October, he shocked many, by announcing he’s retiring. Before the event, the widespread belief was the undefeated fighter would compete at least one more time, in pursuit of the 30-0 mark.

But, while citing a promise he made to his mother, after his father passed away earlier this year, Khabib announced he’s retiring.

Since then, there’s been endless speculation about whether Khabib could return after all. White has said he believes the champ will return to the cage, even though Nurmagomedov has repeated he’s done fighting.

The star, however, has also spiked speculation about a return on account of the fact he remains in the USADA testing pool. Further, Khabib recently raised eyebrows by telling White via social media that he’ll see him “soon”.

Well, following UFC Vegas 15 this past weekend, White confirmed that he and Khabib are planning to meet (quotes via  MMA Fighting).

““We’re gonna meet in Abu Dhabi,” White said. “[We’ll be there] sometime soon. I’ll let you know when you need to know.”

And when asked if he still thinks Khabib is going to come back to pursue a 30-0 record, White said this.

“I do,” White stated. “He hasn’t said that to me but I do.”

Reaction?

Now, the fact Khabib and White are planning to meet, doesn’t necessarily mean the champ is going to end his retirement. After all, he has mentioned a few times now, in public appearances, that he’s done fighting.

So, Khabib could want to meet with White regarding a different business opportunity. Or, of course, he could just want to hang out with him when White’s back in Abu Dhabi.

But, it’s also possible that Khabib has some ideas for a 30th bout, and that he wants to float the proposal to White. In other words, if Khabib is thinking about fighting again, it’s very likely he’s not going to stand back and just let the UFC pick his opponent.