The future of Khabib Nurmagomedov remains one of the main intrigues in the world of mixed martial arts.
The Russian has repeatedly stated that he does not intend to change his decision to retire from the sport, but neither MMA fans nor UFC President Dana White leave hopes of seeing his 30th fight.
But if there is hardly a rival in the lightweight division who can not only give battle to the Eagle, but also strengthen his legacy, then in the adjacent category there is a more than worthy opponent.
This is the welterweight champion Kamaru Usman, who recently inscribed his name in the history of the organization.
In the main event of UFC 258, Usman took over Gilbert Burns for his third title defense.
The Nigerian won the 13th fight under the auspices of the Absolute Fighting Championship, thereby surpassing Georges Saint-Pierre's record for the number of welterweight victories.
It is noteworthy that at the end of the show, he expressed his willingness to fight the legendary Canadian and said that this fight would be of interest to MMA fans.
Earlier, Nurmagomedov had already challenged Saint-Pierre.
Khabib has repeatedly expressed his desire to measure his strength with Georges, but at the same time he refused the idea of lifting in weight.
Taking into account the fact that the 39-year-old Canadian had never fought in the category up to 70 kilograms before, the prospects for their meeting in the lightweight division were initially dim.
Now Nurmagomedov's return to the cage seems less and less likely.
Saint-Pierre expectedly and logically abandoned the idea of going through the most grueling weight race of his career and risking his legacy.
Conor McGregor sensationally lost to Dustin Poirier and, if he didn’t put an end to a possible rematch with Khabib, then at least postponed it for at least six months in the most favorable hands.
For the rest, few people are able to interest the leadership of the promotion and the Russian himself, as well as make him worthy competition.
Poirier and Justin Gaethje have already shown that they are unable to resist the champion, Tony Ferguson missed his chance, Charles Oliveira is unlikely to be able to attract an audience, and Max Holloway has no positive experience in this weight category.
At first glance, the most logical way out of the situation is to keep your word and hang your gloves on a nail.
But in this case, Nurmagomedov risks falling out of the ranks of contenders for the title of the greatest fighter in history.
Surely he will be remembered as the dominant champion and undefeated athlete, but is it enough to compete on equal terms with John Jones, Anderson Silva, Demetrius Johnson and Georges Saint-Pierre?
In terms of the number of fights won in the largest promotion, he is inferior to all the above-named fighters, a similar state of affairs in terms of title defenses.
All four are distinguished by stability over time and at least 11 victories in battles for the belt, which Khabib cannot boast of.
Of course, being at the top for more than five years is not the only way to get into the pantheon of the greats.
You can take a shortcut and do something extraordinary.
For example, like the same Conor McGregor, Daniel Cormier and Randy Couture, who won trophies in two divisions.
Moreover, it is not necessary to repeat their fate and remain in the sport until the moment you suffer defeat.
You can take a chance, move to a different weight, win the belt and leave on a high note.
This is exactly what Nurmagomedov can do now, if he agrees to sort things out in the octagon with Usman.
Of course, one of the main obstacles on the way to this fight is Nurmagomedov's own fears that the opponent will have too much weight advantage.
Back in 2017, he said that in a day after weighing, Usman manages to return about 10 - 11 kilograms of mass, as a result of which he enters the cage with a weight of 87 - 88 kg.
At the same time, Khabib himself is not much inferior to his counterpart.
If you believe the stories of his teammates, then sometimes his weight reached 88.5 kg - even more than Kamaru.
And in 2014, the fighter admitted that after strength training, his muscles begin to grow very quickly, as a result of which his body weight can increase up to 90 kg.
Thus, a Russian is able to achieve the performance of a Nigerian and look no less physically powerful in a cage.
At the same time, there is no reason to doubt the readiness of the matchmakers to organize such a duel.
Firstly, in the championship, status battles have always been appreciated and very willingly arranged fights between champions.
Secondly, both are popular fighters, which is confirmed by the latest broadcast sales of tournaments with their participation.
The battle of Nurmagomedov with McGregor tops this rating (2.4 million), and the fight between Usman and Jorge Masvidal is in sixth place (1.3 million).
There is no doubt that the success of UFC 251 is also due to the fact that the show became one of the largest in the first wave of pandemics, and three belts were at stake at once.
But the contribution of the Nigerian himself should not be underestimated either.
Perhaps he is not a fan favorite, and most still cheer against him, but sometimes this only contributes to popularity.
At the moment, he can be called the ideal "villain", whose second defeat in his career many dream to see.
In addition, this fight seems to be ideal in terms of styles.
Nurmagomedov and Usman have long been considered among the top candidates for the title of the best wrestler in mixed martial arts history and the most dominant champion in the UFC.
Among other things, success will help Khabib finally remove all questions about the fact that he prevailed exclusively over the drummers comfortable to him.
By and large, he fought with wrestling specialists at the dawn of his performances in the championship, and the meeting with Gleason Tibau is still considered one of the most difficult in his career.
What if successful will Uthman gain?
Yes, he will not become a champion in two divisions, but he will usurp the status of the strongest wrestler in the world and become the first to defeat Nurmagomedov.
And this is not counting the opportunity to earn a record fee for yourself.
For the battle with Khabib, he will certainly receive many times more than for the battle with Burns.
According to MMA Salaries, the total payout from the promotion was $ 1.04 million.
Thus, the UFC leadership has more than enough reason to stop hoping for McGregor to return to good shape, and try to move in a different direction.
A big check is a solid argument in negotiations, but Nurmagomedov himself has repeatedly spoken about his desire to strengthen his legacy.
And in this regard, a victory over Usman is much more valuable than a triumph in a rematch with McGregor.
Perhaps Dana White should consider this option until the Russian finally abandoned the idea of entering the cage for the 30th time.