Last October, when Khabib Nurmagomedov extended his unbeaten record to 29-0 with a second-round submission victory over Justin Gaehtje in UFC 254, he dedicated the fight to his late father, and announced his retirement while laying his gloves on the floor of the Octagon.
Since then, UFC president Dana White has tirelessly tried to convince the former lightweight champion of a comeback. After all, the 32-year-old Russian star is still considered a main event attraction to hopeful fans. But don't count on Nurmagomedov's return, according to White, even if a prized fight against, say, rival Conor McGregor seems too nice to pass up.
"I wish [Khabib] would've stuck around longer, but I'm not going to say that I don't understand," White told The Zach Gelb Show on Thursday. "His dad died, who he was very close to and who was a big part to his training and everything else... I worked him hard, man. I really went after this kid, and really tried to [convince him to return]. I threw the kitchen sink at him, and I think he's done...
"Obviously if McGregor wins [at UFC 264] on Saturday, and Khabib came back, I would pitch him Conor McGregor. But then you'd have to have Khabib come back and fight for the title, too. So, it's tough to say... If Conor won, you'd want to go Conor, definitely. But he should come back and fight for the title, too.
"So, in a perfect world, he fights for the title, and if he wins, he fights Conor McGregor... I don't think [a McGregor fight would draw him out of retirement]. The guy doesn't need money -- he's incredibly wealthy. And I just think he's in a different place now, mentally, since his dad passed away."
According to ESPN Stats & Info, Nurmagomedov joined Anderson Silva as the only other fighter to start his UFC career with 13 consecutive wins. He's also won four lightweight title fights, which is tied for the most in UFC history.
McGregor, who lost to Nurmagomedov by submission at UFC 229 back in 2018, is scheduled to face Dustin Poirier in the main event of UFC 264 this Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
The entire UFC conversation between White and Gelb can be accessed in the audio player above.
You can follow The Zach Gelb Show on Twitter @ZachGelb and Tom Hanslin @TomHanslin.