Khabib Nurmagomedov answers whether he will come out of retirement if Islam Makhachev loses to Charles Oliveira

Khabib Nurmagomedov, Islam Makhachev, and Charles Oliveira [Image courtesy - Getty]

Khabib Nurmagomedov admits he will be heartbroken if his childhood friend and teammate Islam Makhachev fails to beat Charles Oliveira in a potential clash for the currently vacant lightweight title. However, 'The Eagle' has also made it clear that his days as a fighter are over.

Regardless of the outcome of a fight between Makhachev and Oliveira, the now-retired undefeated fighter will not enter the cage again. This comes after Nurmagomedov's teammate Daniel Cormier previously claimed that the Dagestani fighter might return to defend Makhachev's honor if he loses to 'Do Bronx'.

Could a Charles Oliveira win over Islam Makhachev bring Khabib back to the octagon? 🤔👀

Full story: bit.ly/39v04VW https://t.co/DSxj7IwAEt

Nurmagomedov stressed that he has passed his prime as a fighter and it's now time for other fighters to shine. The 33-year-old reiterated that he doesn't intend to fight ever again and wants fans, media, and analysts to stop speculating about a potential return to the octagon.

During a recent interaction with ESPN MMA's Brett Okamoto, Nurmagomedov said:

"If he [Oliveira] beats Islam, of course I'm gonna feel bad, you know, of course I'm gonna feel bad but it's no way people can talk about like, 'How you're gonna come back?' Please leave me alone, let these guys fight. This is different time, different fighters now, their prime time and we have to understand who's the best lightweight in the world right now between Charles and Islam."

Watch the full interview below:

Khabib Nurmagomedov weighs in on comparisons between himself and Charles Oliveira

Khabib Nurmagomedov believes there's no comparison between himself and Charles Oliveira. He claimed that his wins inside the octagon were more dominant compared to the Brazilian's. Nurmagomedov also pointed out that Oliveira gets knocked down in most of his fights whereas he barely got touched up throughout his career.

I respect Olivera but stop comparing him to Khabib. Khabib never been submitted, never been dropped,never shed blood in the octagon. And Olivera didn’t clear the division yet. You have Beneil & Islam.
@TeamKhabib @MAKHACHEVMMA @beneildariush

Elaborating further, Nurmagomedov also spoke about the losses Oliveira suffered in the early stages of his career and the fact that despite being a specialist grappler, he was forced to tap in some fights:

"Every fight he goes down couple times. Last fight it was like, how many, two-three times knocked down with Michael Chandler, with Dustin Poirier, with just engaging he always go down. This is like a little bit question, you know, nobody ever touched my face and all the time you go down people cannot talk about comparing me versus Charles Oliveira where he tapped in the UFC at a time."