Daniel Cormier weighs in on the possibility of Khabib Nurmagomedov returning for another fight
Former Light Heavyweight and Heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier recently shared his thoughts on the retirement of UFC Lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov.
Not only was Daniel Cormier, a longtime training partner for ‘The Eagle’ as an assistant coach at AKA, but he was also perhaps Khabib’s closest friend and his biggest fan in the UFC.
Daniel Cormier recently spoke with Ariel Helwani in the latest edition of the latter's podcast.
When asked whether he spoke to Khabib about his retirement, Daniel Cormier replied,
“The only thing I told him was – Brother you had the shortest retirement ever, it only lasted three days. We didn't get much into it. We laughed about it. But if you are Dana White, you are saying what you need to. Hope that that’s what Khabib wants to do. The thing is this man, I take people for their word, I want Khabib to feel comfortable talking to me. I don’t want him thinking that whatever we are talking about, I am trying to find things for my show. We have conversations that I don’t want to always say. But if you are Dana White or the UFC, you have to be hopeful.”
Daniel Cormier was one of the few people Khabib acknowledged when he announced his shock retirement at UFC 254 after a second-round submission win over Justin Gaethje.
It was his third consecutive submission win after victories over Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier.
Daniel Cormier agrees with Dana White that Khabib is still the Lightweight champion
Earlier in the week, UFC president Dana White had announced that Khabib Nurmagomedov has not relinquished his title and is still the Lightweight champion.
Daniel Cormier, it seems, shares the same sentiment. While there was a lot of speculation regarding who the next king of the 155-pound division would be, Dana White put out that fire with his announcement.
Khabib Nurmagomedov also sits at the top of the UFC pound for pound rankings, replacing Jon Jones after his impressive UFC 254 submission win.
Incidentally, Daniel Cormier was on commentary that night in Fight Islan, Abu Dhabi.