Ex-UFC heavyweight champion Bas Rutten predicts ‘competitive’ Khabib Nurmagomedov will make a retirement U-turn because fighting ‘is a hard thing to let go of’… and he’ll ‘make a killing’ if he does return to the octagon
- Khabib Nurmagomedov retired after his UFC 254 victory over Justin Gaethje
- The undefeated Russian has since met up with UFC president Dana White
- Bas Rutten says Khabib’s ‘competitive nature’ will lead to an eventual return
Former UFC heavyweight champion Bas Rutten claims Khabib Nurmagomedov will return to the octagon because of his ‘competitive nature’.
The undefeated Russian made the shocking decision to retire at the age of 32, after defeating Justin Gaethje at UFC 254 back in October.
There had since been optimism that a meeting between Khabib and UFC president Dana White at UFC 257 would lead to a return.
Khabib Nurmagomedov retired from UFC action after beating Justin Gaethje at UFC 257
Ex-heavyweight champion Bas Rutten says Khabib’s ‘competitive nature’ will lead to a return
But Khabib reiterated his will to stay retired and told White he was at a far higher level that Dustin Poirier, Conor McGregor, Michael Chandler and Dan Hooker, who all fought at the event on Fight Island.
However Rutten believes Khabib will eventually be tempted into a return.
He told The Sun: ‘I have to see with Khabib. He’s a very competitive guy. In two years from now, is the blood going, “I would love to fight again”?
‘And we would all love to see him fight again and he’ll make a killing. Maybe he will be back. I have that feeling because he’s just that competitive.’
He went on to add: ‘He’s pretty young. Fighting is a very hard thing to let go of, man.
‘I mean doing it in front of thousands of people, knocking somebody out and people going nuts and the winning, it’s a feeling you can’t replace with anything.
‘It’s why a lot of fighters start drinking or doing drugs because their careers are over and they try to replace that feeling with something.’
Khabib met with Dana White at UFC 257 but reiterated his desire to stay retired from the UFC
Khabib retired with a perfect 29-0 record, after his submission victory over Gaethje back in October.
Earlier this week he hinted at a future fight while attending Paris Saint-Germain’s 4-1 victory over Barcelona at the Nou Camp in the Champions League.
Khabib, who is known to be a fan of Barcelona’s Spanish rivals Real Madrid, took a video of himself in the stands and called out White over a potential contest.
The 32-year-old said in an Instagram live session: ‘Hey Dana you here? Let’s make fight here 100,000 people, let’s go.’
Khabib asked Dana White in a video to arrange a fight for him at Barcelona’s Nou Camp
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