Khabib Nurmagomedov reveals if he will return to fight Charles Oliveira if he defeats Islam Makhachev
Khabib Nurmagomedov has claimed he isn't willing to make a comeback to the sport of MMA, even if reigning UFC lightweight champion Charles Oliveira continues his dominance.
During his interview with Brett Okamoto of ESPN MMA, Khabib Nurmagomedov said that fighting is definitely not interesting to him anymore.
'The Eagle' added that he would be happy for Oliveira even if he beats the likes of Justin Gaethje, Dustin Poirier and, his close friend, Islam Makhachev.
Khabib Nurmagomedov further pointed out Oliveira's eight-fight winning streak and it's safe to say that 'Do Bronx' has certainly impressed the former 155-pound champion.
"At that time, it was Khabib time, now Charles time. I'm not gonna just jump to the media and say, 'Oh I'm gonna come back, fight this guy'. This is not interesting for me. Now it's like, even if Charles Oliveira beats Justin Gaethje, Islam, Dustin, everybody. This is his time, I'm gonna be happy for him. You know, I'm gonna say 'Congratulations, Charles, you're doing very good job.' Like he have right now eight [fight] win streak, he beat a lot of good guys, most of them, he finished them. It's good, he's very impressive."
At UFC 262, Oliveira won the UFC lightweight title that was vacated by Khabib Nurmagomedov. The Brazilian defeated Michael Chandler to win the belt in what surely was one of the most emotional moments in UFC history.
Oliveira is currently on course to make his first title defense against Dustin Poirier. 'The Diamond' is on the back of a second 2021 win over Conor McGregor and will aim to establish his place as the best lightweight in the world by capturing the undisputed world championship.
Khabib Nurmagomedov retired from active competition in 2020
At the UFC 254 pay-per-view, Khabib Nurmagomedov retired from active competition after his win over Justin Gaethje.
'The Eagle' successfully defended the UFC lightweight title against 'The Highlight'. The fight would go on to be Nurmagomedov's final bout.