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Dana White may not have taken Khabib Nurmagomedov's offer to coach The Ultimate Fighter seriously at first, but he's now considering the idea following an interview with Barstool Sports' Robbie Fox.
Fox and his co-hosts from Spinning Backfist interviewed White leading up to UFC 275 and picked his brain on a number of subjects. One was Nurmagomedov's suggestion that he and Tony Ferguson coach the next season of The Ultimate Fighter.
That seems like an amazing idea that would generate the best ratings for TUF since Conor McGregor coached in 2015. However, Dana White seemed unsure people would be interested without 'The Eagle' and 'El Cucuy' fighting at the end. He asked:
"Do you like it? So you’re telling me, you guys as fans, media, whatever it might be, like the idea of two guys possibly coaching that wouldn’t fight each other? I’ll consider it. Congratulations. Okay. I will absolutely entertain that idea. Hopefully they'll get so pissed off at each other that they'll actually want to fight. I'm in, you sold me."
Watch the full interview with Dana White below:
Khabib Nurmagomedov remains one of the biggest stars in mixed martial arts despite being retired since October 2020. Tony Ferguson also continues to be a fan favorite even though he's now on a four fight losing streak. In contrast, the current 30th season of The Ultimate Fighter with Amanda Nunes and Julianna Pena generated so little interest it was relegated to ESPN+ without any cable airtime on ESPN. The show could definitely use some star power if it returns for season 31.
Khabib Nurmagomedov wants Dana White to call him about Islam Makhachev and coaching The Ultimate Fighter
Khabib Nurmagomedov's offer to coach The Ultimate Fighter seems pretty generous for someone who isn't interested in reality TV drama. The Dagestani superstar's offer may come with a condition, though. When Nurmagomedov mentioned coaching TUF, he did so alongside a comment about his teammate Islam Makhachev getting a lightweight title shot in October.
“I sent a message like 'No way some other guy gets to fight for the title. Islam has to be there.’ I sent a similar message but he don’t respond. I think he was busy, maybe. This first time, and it’s okay. Everybody make mistake ... I don’t wanna give him pressure, but Dana, we have to finish two business, Islam Makhachev and Ultimate Fighter.
For some, it sounded like Nurmagomedov was subtly suggesting to Dana White that he'd coach TUF in exchange for Makhachev getting his shot at a UFC belt.
