Dana White claims UFC Lightweight Champion Khabib Nurmagomedov will 'talk to his mother' about return

Khabib Nurmagomedov announced his retirement from MMA a week ago at UFC 254 after defeating Justin Gaethje with a second-round submission and defending the lightweight title for the third time.

Khabib ended his career undefeated with an UFC record of 13-0 and a professional MMA record of 29-0. A lot of fans are speculating whether 'The Eagle' will be back to make it a square 30-0.

UFC President Dana White weighed in on the matter, saying that he is confident Khabib Nurmagomedov will return for the 30th fight of his professional career.

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Dana White 'feels pretty good' about Khabib Nurmagomedov's return

In the media conference, Dana White claimed that emotions were high after the fight and Khabib Nurmagomedov got caught up in the moment when he said this was his last fight in UFC.

Dana White was asked what he thought about the retirement call, because Khabib has gone on record ever since claiming he is indeed not coming back to the Octagon.

But White said he was 'feeling pretty good' about it, as Khabib has said he would talk to his mother about returning.

"I feel pretty good. He said he's gonna talk to his mother."

"He's still the champ!""He's going to talk to his mother."@DanaWhite feels 'pretty good' about the potential return of @TeamKhabib 👊 pic.twitter.com/jQiqpVCnkq

— UFC on BT Sport (@btsportufc) November 1, 2020

The Lightweight Champion had said post-fight that he was not going to continue fighting without his father and coach Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov, who passed away earlier this year due to coronavirus-related complications.

Khabib Nurmagomedov added that he made a promise to his mother that the fight with Justin Gaethje was going to be his last.

"No way I’m going to come here without my father. It was first time after what happened with my father, when UFC called me about Justin, I talk with my mother three days. She doesn’t want me to go fight without my father but I promised her it was going to be my last fight. If I give my word, I have to follow this."

Khabib Nurmagomedov: "I promised my mother this is going to be my last fight." #UFC254 pic.twitter.com/XnkDyMFdAP

— Chamatkar Sandhu (@SandhuMMA) October 24, 2020

But Dana White is confident the 155-pounder will return to make it 30-0, because it is something his father wanted as well.

"He's considering the 30-0. His father wanted it. He was super emotional. He had the mumps, measles, whatever, broken toe, trained on a stationary bike for that fight and then came in and fought."

Dana White also clarified that the lightweight title is not vacant. Khabib Nurmagomedov still holds the belt and is the undisputed Champion of the division.

"He's still the champ. There is no vacant title open right now, no interim title happening. We'll give him some time to figure out what he wants to do."