Khabib Nurmagomedov predicts the next UFC lightweight champion and it's not Conor McGregor
Khabib Nurmagomedov believes that his former opponent Dustin Poirier will be the next man to get his hands on the UFC lightweight title.
It looks like Khabib Nurmagomedov isn't coming back from retirement anytime soon. In a recent tweet by BT Sport, Khabib was quoted saying that Dustin Poirier is his pick to become the new UFC lightweight champion. Poirier and Conor McGregor are scheduled to fight in the headliner of UFC 257 on January 23, and unsurprisingly, 'The Eagle' seems to pick Poirier to beat his arch-rival.
Khabib claimed that the top contenders in the 155lbs division are almost equally matched in terms of skill but if he had to put his money on someone, he would pick Poirier to become the next champion.
Will Khabib Nurmagomedov stay retired?
Nurmagomedov's statement indicates that he has no plans to defend his title anytime soon, making the strap seemingly vacant. It will be interesting to find out what the UFC decides to do with the vacant title if Khabib indeed chooses to stay retired. With the McGregor-Poirier rematch coming up soon, the title scenario at the lightweight division is going to be intriguing to witness.
However, all doubts will only be removed once UFC President Dana White and Nurmagomedov have their meeting in Abu Dhabi. At a recent press conference, Nurmagomedov said that he is not pondering over the future until he meets White. The undefeated Russian further stated that he will only return to the octagon if he gets his mother's blessings.
Nurmagomedov decided to hang up his gloves in the emotional aftermath of UFC 254, where he successfully defended his title for the third time against Justin Gaethje. Following the fight, Khabib, visibly emotional, announced his retirement from the sport. He said that his mother didn't want him to carry on fighting following his father's passing. Khabib Nurmagomedov said that he promised his mother that the fight against Gaethje would be his last.
Following his retirement, Nurmagomedov has been focused on expanding his businesses. He recently launched his own mobile service operator in Moscow named 'Eagle Mobile'. Nurmagomedov then spent $1 million to buy Russian MMA promotion Gorrila Fighting Championship and today he announced the launch of a fitness app named OctaZone.
For Khabib Nurmagomedov, business seems to be booming at the moment. His popularity is soaring sky-high and along with it, his bank balance.