Here's the absurd eight-figure offer UFC made to convince Khabib Nurmagomedov to keep fighting

Khabib Nurmagomedov is widely heralded among the greatest MMA fighters of all time. 'The Eagle' amassed a professional MMA record of 29 victories and no defeats, while his record in the UFC organization stands at 13 wins and 0 losses.

At a time when the undefeated Russian fighter was dominating his opponents inside the octagon, he sent shockwaves across the MMA community by announcing his retirement. Following his second-round submission win over Justin Gaethje in their UFC lightweight title unification bout at UFC 254 in October 2020, Nurmagomedov revealed that he's retiring from the sport of MMA.

In July 2020, Khabib Nurmagomedov's father and longtime coach Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov passed away. Following that, 'The Eagle' competed in just one professional MMA bout, his fight against Gaethje in October 2020, and then retired.

Addressing the same, Nurmagomedov explained that his mother didn't want him to continue his MMA career without his father by his side, which is why he competed one last time and retired thereafter.

In the ensuing months, then-UFC president (now-UFC CEO) Dana White made several attempts to persuade Nurmagomedov to compete again. However, in March 2021, White and the UFC gave up their quest of getting 'The Eagle' to return.

Khabib Nurmagomedov's UFC lightweight title was declared vacant, with Charles Oliveira subsequently capturing it. In the following years, Dagestani grappling savant Nurmagomedov has often alluded to the lucrative offers the UFC gave him for a comeback.

In an edition of UFC Fight Pass’ Ultimate 30, Nurmagomedov recently spoke to his AKA (American Kickboxing Academy) teammate and friend, fellow UFC Hall of Famer Daniel Cormier. Discussing the purported eight-figure offers that the UFC directed his (Nurmagomedov's) way, 'The Eagle' stated:

"When you best fighter in the world, when you strong enough, when you have money, when you famous, it's very hard to say no to all these things. It's very hard. It's not easy. It's not easy to just say no to 20, 30, 40 million dollars. But for myself, it's not everything. This is not most important. It was not easy decision. But if I decide, it's decided. It's finished. I leave this alone. I'm happy, and, like, I never regret with my decision. Never."

Check out Nurmagomedov's comments in the video below:

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Khabib Nurmagomedov's retirement and the current UFC lightweight title picture

Khabib Nurmagomedov has consistently maintained that he wouldn't return to professional MMA competition, irrespective of how high-paying a UFC contract may be. Besides, as implied in his aforementioned conversation with Daniel Cormier, 'The Eagle' seemingly turned down a UFC offer that was in the eight-figure ballpark.

Nevertheless, Khabib Nurmagomedov continues to train in the MMA realm, alongside his childhood friend Islam Makhachev and cousins like Usman Nurmagomedov and Umar Nurmagomedov.

Following 'The Eagle's' MMA retirement, Charles Oliveira held the UFC lightweight title, with the next champion being Islam Makhachev. Presently, Makhachev reigns supreme as the UFC lightweight champion and is expected to defend his title in a rematch against Oliveira next.