"Khabib is done" - Dana White confirms he will not ask Khabib Nurmagomedov to fight Charles Oliveira
Dana White has confirmed that Khabib Nurmagomedov is done with active competition and will not fight Charles Oliveira.
Oliveira defeated Dustin Poirier in the main event of UFC 269 to retain his belt. 'Do Bronx' is on a 10-bout winning streak right now and many MMA fans believe Khabib should come out of retirement to face the Brazilian.
Speaking to ESPN MMA, White stressed that Khabib doesn't have the same desire or excitement to compete in the octagon due to the death of his father Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov:
"People were hitting me up on social media that you got to take another run at Khabib. I mean Khabib is done. He just started his own deal [Eagle Fighting Championship] now. He is out there doing his thing. I do not think he wants to fight anymore for sure. And I think you know losing his dad, he sort of lost his desire and excitement to fight. I think his dad was his driving force, telling him let's do this, let us do that. Now that that's gone, I don't think that he will fight again," said White.
Watch Dana White in conversation with renowned MMA reporter Brett Okamoto below:
Meanwhile, Charles Oliveira currently possesses the record for most finishes (18), most submission wins (15) and most post-fight bonuses (18) in UFC history.
Charles Oliveira is set to defend his lightweight championship against Justin Gaethje next
Charles Oliveira (32-8-1) moved to the No.5 spot in the UFC men's pound-for-pound rankings following his third-round submission triumph over Poirier (28-7-1).
Justin Gaethje (23-3), on the other hand, replaced 'The Diamond' as the No.1 contender in the lightweight division. He last defeated Michael Chandler via unanimous decision at UFC 268 in November.
Dana White recently confirmed that Oliveira vs. Gaethje will be the next lightweight title fight. The encounter is expected to happen sometime in the first half of 2022.
if Charles Oliveira beats Gaethje and Islam his LW reign will be better then Khabibs. https://t.co/YeIY92yvLS
However, Charles Oliveira claimed that he would also be interested in squaring off against Conor McGregor, the biggest superstar in the MMA world, if the opportunity arises.
As of now, there is another lightweight title eliminator scheduled at UFC Fight Night 203 in February next year between contenders Beneil Dariush and Islam Makhachev.