Khabib Nurmagomedov provided a hint on his future in fighting earlier today.
The undefeated lightweight champion is set to defend his belt against Justin Gaethje at UFC 254. Many pundits are considering it the toughest test of his career. Yet, he remains confident he will get his hand raised. So, on a media call, he revealed Dana White has promised him something special if he wins.
“I don’t think (I’ll retire after this fight). We have a couple (of) options. We’re going to think about this after this fight,” Khabib Nurmagomedov said on the UFC 254 media call. “Dana told me after this fight, he has something special for me. But I told him, please keep this, after fight we’re going to talk. He say has very big things after this fight for me. We’ll see.”
Immediately, many thought that something special meant a fight with Georges St-Pierre that they both have wanted. Nurmagomedov said he would beat Gaethje in October then fight GSP in April. It would also be a massive fight and one many think would settle a debate between who is the greatest of all-time.
Yet, according to Nurmagomedov’s manager, that special surprise will not be a fight with either St-Pierre or a rematch with Conor McGregor.
I can guarantee you that surprise won’t be conor or GSP
It’s completely between me and Dana
It will be something big
But let’s show some respect to Justin
This is the best lightweight title bout in the history— Ali Abdelaziz (@AliAbdelaziz00) October 1, 2020
“I can guarantee you that surprise won’t be Conor or GSP It’s completely between me and Dana It will be something big But let’s show some respect to Justin This is the best lightweight title bout in the history,” Ali Abdelaziz tweeted.
If something special is not a fight with St-Pierre or Conor McGregor it is hard to say what it will be. There are some big fights at lightweight but none bigger than those two. So, perhaps it doesn’t involve fighting at lightweight.
What do you think the special surprise will be that Dana White has confirmed to Khabib Nurmagomedov?