UFC President Dana White made an official statement regarding the resumption of the career of the reigning lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov.
The head of the promotion said that the Russian is ready to return to the cage, but only if one of the title contenders can demonstrate an impressive performance and thereby attract his attention.
In addition, the functionary tried to explain what caused the athlete's emotional statement in October and admitted that he considered him the best MMA fighter in the world.
The meeting between Nurmagomedov and White took place yesterday in Abu Dhabi.
The MMA community was eagerly awaiting the announcement of its results, but the functionary and the fighter almost disappeared from the media space for almost half a day.
The first to break the silence was Khabib, who posted on Instagram a humorous video about negotiations with the head of the Absolute Fighting Championship, in which the parties appeared as heroes from the Soviet film "Prisoner of the Caucasus".
Then Dana spoke.
The head of the promotion assured that he would make an official statement on the decision of the Russian during the first ever UFC tournament on ABC TV channel.
However, he also promised to tell how it will affect the two main fights of the 257th show.
In the first of them, Conor McGregor will fight with Justin Gaethje, and in the second, Dan Hooker will face off against Michael Chandler.
White was originally scheduled to go on the air at 23:00 local time - before the start of the main card.
However, for unknown reasons, this did not happen, and after a short introduction from the commentators, the middleweight contestants, Punhele Soriano and Dusko Todorovich, entered the octagon.
As a result, White's official appeal to the fans took place after the end of the confrontation between the American and the Serb.
First of all, the head of the UFC said that he was shocked at the moment when Nurmagomedov said about his retirement, and admitted that at that moment everyone in the arena felt the same feelings.
At the same time, the functionary noted that he understood the reason for such a decision of the Russian, recalling that a few months before the show, he had lost his father Abdulmanap.
“As I said, he went through a lot before the last fight.
His father died, he spent a lot of time away from his family, was injured during training.
And in the end he made an emotional decision ... Talking to him, I asked him not to rush, I said that one day we will meet.
It happened yesterday.
Overall, he now feels he has achieved everything he wanted, ”White said.
As for the return of the reigning champion to the octagon, White chose not to make loud statements, but simply conveyed the words of Nurmagomedov himself, who admitted the possibility of resuming his career.
“On Saturday we will have fights between Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier, as well as between Michael Chandler and Dan Hooker.
What was told to me: “I will watch these fights ... Let these guys show something impressive.
Show me something impressive and make me come back and fight again. "
This may apply to both the main and main contractions of the evening.
Besides, Charles Oliveira is also very good.
If they can demonstrate something special, Khabib will fight with them, "- said the President of the UFC.
The # UFC257 stakes have been raised!
👀 @ DanaWhite gives us an update on @ TeamKhabib's fighting status.
pic.twitter.com/FFC2GNeIUY
- UFC (@ufc) January 16, 2021
At the same time, White confirmed that Nurmagomedov's recent emotional statement did not change his opinion about the Russian.
He praised both his last performance and his status in the world of mixed martial arts, confirming that it is not for nothing that he is ranked first in the UFC fighters ranking, regardless of weight category.
“He's the best in the world right now.
His best performance was against Gaji, and everything that happens ... He just needed a little time to clear his head.
If these guys are going to do what I think about next weekend, then it looks like he can have a duel with one of them, ”concluded White.
Nurmagomedov fought his last fight at the moment at UFC 254, which took place on October 24, 2020 in Abu Dhabi.
In the main fight of the show, the Russian won a choke hold over Justin Gaethje and spent the third defense of the lightweight title, after which he announced his retirement.
He admitted that he made a promise to his mother not to fight again after the death of his father, and asked the UFC management to put him in the first place in the ranking as a fighter, regardless of weight classes.
Nevertheless, since the end of the tournament, rumors about the possible return of Nurmagomedov did not subside in the press.
Most of them were fueled by White, who repeatedly expressed the opinion that the reigning lightweight champion would have at least one more fight in the cage.
Subsequently, it became known that the fighter and the functionary would hold a meeting at the beginning of 2021, following which Khabib's further plans would be announced.
It was decided to hold it on the eve of the first major championship show of the year - UFC 257.
The meeting took place on January 15 in Abu Dhabi, as reported by the head of the UFC himself. He posted a message on the social network Twitter, in which he and the reigning lightweight champion walk into a room together. As it turned out later, White and Nurmagomedov not only discussed the development of the athlete's career, but also attended the UAE Warriors MMA tournament together.