White to reveal outcome of talks with Nurmagomedov over potential UFC return
Khabib Nurmagomedov’s immediate future was to become much clearer this morning, with UFC president Dana White confirming he would reveal the outcome of their Abu Dhabi meet at last night’s Fight Island opener at Etihad Arena.
White had been teasing their Friday get-together at UAE Warriors 15 in the capital, where the pair met for the first time since Nurmagomedov’s shock retirement in October.
The lightweight champion, whose father died in July, defeated Justin Gaethje at UFC 254 – also in Abu Dhabi – before announcing inside the octagon that he had promised his mother he would not continue competing. Aged 32, Nurmagomedov’s professional record stands at 29-0.
Yesterday afternoon, White took to social media to set a midnight deadline local time for his own announcement, which will take place before the main card of UFC Fight Night: Holloway vs Kattar. That event kicks off the three-show Fight Island at the newly opened Etihad Arena.
The series, the promotion’s third in Abu Dhabi since July, concludes on January 24 with Conor McGregor against Dustin Poirier at UFC257.
White said: “I met with Khabib Nurmagomedov last night, and today at three o’clock on the east coast [US time], on ABC the network, I’m going to talk about his decision, and how it’s going to impact the Poirier-McGregor fight next weekend, and the co-main event in the lightweight division.”
White’s comments soon had the world of mixed martial arts speculating, with some suggesting Nurmagomedov would be vacating his belt – and thus elevate Poitier-Mcgregor to a title fight.
That could in turn mean that the co-main event at UFC 257, the lightweight clash between debutant Michael Chandler and Dan Hooker, could become a No 1-contender bout.
White had previously stated he wants to see Nurmagomedov take on McGregor in a rematch if the Irishman defeats Poirier.
The third residency of the UFC Fight Island series kicked off last night, to be headlined by the featherweight bout between Max Holloway and Calvin Kattar.
A second UFC Fight Night show follows on Wednesday, when welterweights Michael Chiesa and Neil Magny top the bill. Sitting cageside at UAE Warriors 15 on Friday night, at a show hosted to commemorate his father, Nurmagomedov praised the role Abu Dhabi has played in the development of MMA.
“It’s a big honour to be here in Abu Dhabi,” he said. “Now Abu Dhabi has become the capital city of MMA in the world.
“Last year and this year, we have seen the biggest MMA fights staged here and all the MMA staff in attendance. This is a big thing for one city. Tonight, we are watching some aspiring fighters at the UAE Warriors and I’m very excited to be involved and watching in this show. Thank you very much to Abdulmunam Al Hashemi [chairman of Palms Sports] for providing some of the young guys with the opportunity to compete on a big stage.”
The highlight of the 15-fight card was the lightweight title bout between Brazilian Bruno Machado and Mickael Lebout of France, with the former winning by a unanimous points decision. Machado’s title defence stretched his perfect UAE Warriors record to four wins and his overall record to 15-9.
White was visiting the UAE Warriors event for the first time and watched almost the entire show. “I wanted to come here [to watch the UAE Warriors] a couple of times but couldn’t make it because of the Covid,” he said.
“I’m blown away with the production guys of this show and those who are fighting here tonight. It is one of the best shows in the world.
“I found a couple of guys but I don’t want to mention their names, and our relationships with the UAE Warriors is on track from tonight.”
The lightweight title bout between Machado and Lebout saw the former winning the highlight match on the fight card