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On a pre-UFC 242 event conference call on Friday afternoon, Khabib Nurmagomedov revealed his retirement plans ahead of his highly awaited title unification bout against Dustin Poirier in Abu Dhabi this weekend.
Khabib Nurmagomedov's highly awaited UFC return
'The Eagle' Khabib Nurmagomedov last competed in the Octagon back at UFC 229 when he successfully defended the UFC Lightweight Championship against Conor McGregor in what is considered as the biggest fight in UFC history.
McGregor, who at the time hadn't competed in almost three years, made his return to the Octagon to win back the 155-pound title. However, he fell victim to The Eagle in the fourth round of their fight as he tapped out to Nurmagomedov in dramatic fashion. Following the fight, a brawl ensued between the two camps, as Nurmagomedov attacked Dillon Danis at cageside. On the other hand, members of Team Khabib jumped McGregor in the Octagon.
This led to a suspension for Nurmagomedov as in the meantime, Dustin Poirier won the interim UFC Lightweight Championship by beating Max Holloway at UFC 236. With Nurmagomedov's suspension being lifted, The Eagle was finally set for his Octagon return and was confirmed to face Poirier in a title unification bout.
Nurmagomedov weighs in on his retirement plans
While interacting with the MMA Media recently, Khabib Nurmagomedov claimed that he doesn't have too many fights ahead of him and certainly isn't planning on fighting till he's 40 years old. (H/T: MMA Junkie)
“Good question. Not yet, but I’m not a young fighter. I’ve already been champion for years. I’ve already defended my title. This is my second defense. Of course, I don’t have a lot of fights ahead, because I don’t want to fight when I’m 40 years old. This isn’t my plan. We’ll see.”
UFC 242: Khabib vs Poirier
UFC 242 is scheduled to take place on the 7th of September, 2019 and the pay-per-view will be headlined Khabib Nurmagomedov and Dustin Poirier, as the two men get set to collide for the undisputed UFC Lightweight Championship.
