ABU DHABI – When UFC President Dana White and lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov met behind closed doors on Friday, a handful of potential names were discussed to possibly retire. Former UFC welterweight and middleweight champion Georges St-Pierre was not among them.
UFC lightweight candidates Conor McGregor, Dustin Poirier, Michael Chandler, Dan Hooker and Charles Oliveira were among potential opponents who floated for Nurmagomedov (29-0 MMA, 13-0 UFC) if he were to return. However, St. Pierre (26-2 MMA, 20-2 UFC) was not raised because the ship sailed because no fighter was interested.
“No,” White told ABC News on Saturday. ‘GSP never came up. (Nurmagomedov) is not interested in that struggle. From what I hear today, GSP is not either. So, it’s over. ”
Nurmagomedov and St-Pierre have been interested in fighting each other in the past. Before his 29-0 victory over Justin Gaethje at UFC 254 in October last year, Nurmagomedov dropped St-Pierre as an ideal opponent for his 30th fight.
After Nurmagomedov’s retirement, St-Pierre rejected the question of whether he would accept the fight if it was offered, and Nurmagomedov would not have announced his retirement inside the cage.
As for the following for Nurmagomedov, White revealed during the UFC on ABC 1 broadcast that the champion will make a final decision after UFC 257 on January 23rd. He wants to see if any performances pop up on him and give him the itch to come back for number 30.
Nurmagomedov will fly to Las Vegas next week. After the closing of UFC 257, White will follow suit. The two are expected to eat dinner and discuss Nurmagomedov’s final decision on dinner shortly thereafter. This time, White expects to finally get his yes-or-no answer.
“He turns on Wednesday and then he leaves,” White said. “He’s leaving and going to Vegas. I’ll fight the fight and fly home on Sunday, and I’ll see him in Vegas again. These battles will have played out. He and I are going to join and go eat in Vegas and talk again. We will make a decision. The one thing he did say is, “I will not strike the division.” ‘