The early departure of Khabib Nurmagomedov from the UFC may have been a big setback for Dana White in recent years. At the height of his career, the ‘Eagle‘ quit the sport undefeated and never returned. The UFC head honcho has done everything in his power to get Nurmagomedov back throughout the years. However, Nurmagomedov doesn’t seem to be drawn to anything, certainly not wealth.
Dana White recently sat down with Shannon Sharpe, and the pair talked about a variety of subjects. During the conversation, Sharpe asked White about his offers to bring back Khabib Nurmagomedov from his retirement. White revealed that no amount of money attracted the Dagestani as he never wanted to fight after his father’s death.
I threw the numbers at him, trust me. Khabib has more money than he’ll ever spend, he doesn’t need to fight again and I think that he sort of lost the desire when his father passed away…. He’s truly happy for Islam.
Dana White via Club Shay Shay YouTube channel
During his prime, Nurmagomedov was one of the biggest UFC stars and had a massive influence worldwide. Given his reputation and other business ventures, it is safe to say the fighter is sitting on millions of dollars. White also talked about the ‘Father’s plan‘, which was Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov‘s vision to see both Khabib Nurmagomedov and Islam Makhachev as champions.
Started fighting for his father, retired for his mother and now he’s coaching his father’s favorite student who’s the current best fighter on the planet & making history. Incredible story pic.twitter.com/sI35amIoyH
— 𝕽𝖆𝖎𝖓𝖒𝖆𝖐𝖊𝖗❂ (@Sa_Gwang) June 20, 2024
After Nurmagomedov retired from the UFC, he successfully coached Makhachev to become the flag bearer of the Dagestani wave in the UFC. As of now, Makhachev has aced every challenge thrown at him. Still, many people think Nurmagomedov’s legacy casts a large shadow over Makhachev. Dana White, though, seems to think otherwise.
Dana White believes Islam Makhachev has a distinct legacy to Khabib Nurmagomedov
Islam Makhachev has won and successfully defended the lightweight title three times in recent years. The pound-for-pound king has made a name for himself as one of the UFC’s most complete fighters. In his last bout, despite suffering from a staph infection, Makhachev defeated Dustin Poirier with a masterclass performance.
Dana White speaks about Islam Makhachev and Khabib Nurmagomedov (via X)Dana White has seen both Khabib Nurmagomedov and Makhachev in their primes and believes that the current champion has no baggage. According to White, Makhachev has created his own legacy by giving dominating performances one after another.
I don’t know if he really lives in Khabib’s shadow….The guy’s been dominant and then he goes in, all the controversy that came off the last fight, and he finishes this fight the way that he did. There’s no excuses.
Dana White via UFC 294 post-fight press conference
Furthermore, Nurmagomedov has fully committed himself to assisting others in achieving greatness and remains incredibly proud of Makhachev. The lightweight champion said he intends to advance and compete for the champ-champ status. Although Dana White has approved the move, Islam Makhachev must address some obstacles in his division before moving up.
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