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Khabib Nurmagomedov defeated Justin Gaethje at UFC 254 and declared that it would be his last fight. He had decided that with the loss of his father, he wouldn't continue his MMA career.
29-0 is as good as one can get in MMA, and it appears as though he has retired undefeated. UFC newcomer Michael Chandler suggested that the promotion organize a four-person tournament involving himself, Tony Ferguson, Dustin Poirier, and Conor McGregor.
Khabib Nurmagomedov's manager Ali Abdelaziz responded to such claims by stating that there isn't any vacant title to begin with.
It's a bit surprising, but we wouldn't be surprised to see the UFC take their time to decide when to vacate the Lightweight Championship. While Khabib Nurmagomedov might be retired, the UFC may be hoping to wait and see if he decides against it.
When Henry Cejudo declared his retirement at UFC 249, the company quickly vacated the title and decided upon Petr Yan vs. Jose Aldo as the fight to declare the new Champion of the 135-pound division.
What would be the best way to crown a new Lightweight Champion after Khabib Nurmagomedov's retirement?
While a four-person tournament wouldn't be a bad idea, we wouldn't be surprised to see the UFC have Dustin Poirier vs. Conor McGregor for the vacant Lightweight Championship.
With that said, it would be odd to book Conor McGregor in another Lightweight title fight, especially since he hasn't had a win at Lightweight for four years now. He has only had a couple of fights at Lightweight for the UFC, one of which was a loss to Khabib Nurmagomedov. His last victory against Donald Cowboy Cerrone was at Welterweight.
Dana White denied the idea of Conor McGregor vs. Dustin Poirier being at Welterweight since he felt it did nothing to advance the division.
