Khabib Nurmagomedov Passed on GSP, Floyd Mayweather Fights
Former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov had the opportunities to fight Boxing Hall of Famer Floyd Mayweather and UFC legend Georges St-Pierre but turned down both fights to honor the promise he made to his mother not to continue competing in the sport.
Nurmagomedov’s manager, Ali Abdelaziz gave an insight on a potential comeback from the lightweight legend and how negotiations to fight Mayweather and St-Pierre never came to fruition.
“But you know, Khabib got offered $100 million after he was retired to fight Floyd Mayweather,” Abdelaziz said in a recent appearance on the Hotboxin’ with Mike Tyson podcast. “You can ask everybody. Khabib said, ‘No, I’m retired. I told my mother I’m retired. I’m going to keep my word to my mother. If my mother told me to fight again, maybe I will. But right now, she told me not to fight.”
It’s definitely eye-opening that Nurmagomedov would decline a fight with St-Pierre after he said that would be his dream fight before he retired. But then again, he appeared serious about being done with combat sports altogether after his father passed away leading up to his win over Justin Gaethje at UFC 254.
Nurmagomedov also met on multiple occasions with UFC president Dana White to discuss a possible comeback, but he declined all offers and reiterated that he was done with fighting. Nurmagomedov then vacated the belt shortly after and Charles Oliveira and Michael Chandler fought for the belt at UFC 262.
Nurmagomedov and Mayweather were also reportedly close to fighting in a hybrid contest involving rounds of Boxing and MMA in the same bout. He also called out Mayweather during an appearance at a Russian boxing event with Mayweather Promotions CEO Leonard Ellerbe in late 2018 but the fight never materialized.
While the UFC’s lightweight division moves on with Oliveira as champion, Nurmagomedov continues to enjoy life away from the octagon and coaching his former teammates at American Kickboxing Academy. In spite of a comeback not technically being impossible, it appears that Nurmagomedov isn’t looking at returning to combat sports anytime soon.
How do you think Khabib would fair in fights against Floyd Mayweather and GSP?
