Khabib Nurmagomedov to return to UFC on one condition

After the death of his father, undefeated lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov promised his mother that he would end his professional MMA career after his title fight with Justin Gaethje. He delivered on his promise, and although fans and potential opponents alike had a hard time coming to terms with his decision, Khabib remained adamant. But now he has voiced one condition that could see him back in the cage.

Khabib says his charge, Islam Makhachev, will be the UFC lightweight champion

Khabib Nurmagomedov is considered by many to be the best MMA fighter of all time, at least within the lightweight division. In fact, he remained undefeated in his 29 fights before moving into MMA retirement. But most of the MMA world still hasn’t come to terms with his decision to this day and would like to see him at least round out his winning streak at number 30.

At the moment, Khabib Nurmagomedov is far from back in the cage as he is solely focused on becoming one of the best coaches in the sport. He is currently guiding his hottest handcuff in the fire, Dagestani fighter Islam Makhachev. The latter, in the main event of this weekend’s UFC Fight Night, knocked out tough Boby Green in the first round, confirming his desire to fight for the UFC lightweight championship belt.

The lightweight card could be shuffled by the returning Conor McGregor

The pitchfork could be thrown Khabib’s hated rival, the returning Conor McGregor after injury. Although the Irish star currently occupies only the ninth spot within the UFC’s lightweight division, the Irishman can certainly still shuffle the division’s cards thanks to his name.

This was confirmed by UFC promoter Dana White himself. “A lot will depend on who the champion is at that time,” White said, according to YouTube channel The Underground. “He has a big say in the choice of opponent, for example, the current champion Charles Oliveira would like to fight Conor,” hinting at the possibility that if Oliveira wins his title fight with Gaethje, Conor could return straight to title contention. “If it’s the right situation, why not,” White confirmed the fact that McGregor has a privileged position in the UFC and the rankings don’t really matter in his case.

Khabib offered a scenario that could put him back in the cage

That certainly wouldn’t sit well with either Makhachev or his trainer, between whom there has been bad blood since their memorable duel. There’s also the possibility of Conor taking on Khabib’s apprentice. This fight would practically promote itself in terms of storyline and martial arts fans would surely be very interested in it.

Khabib himself has even offered a scenario that could see him return to the cage. “When Islam becomes the lightweight division champion, I would love to see him fight Conor,” Khabib revealed, according to Twitter handle @PauliPromotions. “I would like to see my brother destroy that stupid guy,” he confirmed the animosity between the two former champions. “I’ll put it this way, if Conor beats Islam, which will never happen, I’ll go back to the UFC and destroy that chicken for the second time in my 30th fight,” he confirmed the possibility of a comeback.

This option is very unlikely, of course, but this is MMA. Let’s face it, even though it’s hard for Conor McGregor to return to his original form, he still has grenades in his hands and in MMA, a single punch can make all the difference. But this possibly utopian scenario would definitely get viewers out of their seats.

Source: Marca, YouTube channel The Underground, Sherdog, Twitter