UFC star Khabib Nurmagomedov believes going 30-0 would be the ‘Floyd Mayweather record of MMA’

UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov has revealed that he wants to become the Floyd Mayweather of mixed martial arts by retiring with a perfect 30-0 record.

Mayweather retired with a perfect 50-0 record after he beat Conor McGregor inside the ring back in August 2017, which cemented his legacy as one of the greatest boxers of all time. 

And Nurmagomedov, whose current record stands at 28-0, believes he can write his name in the MMA history books with two more wins inside the octagon before he can retire from fighting.

Khabib Nurmagomedov wants to become the Floyd Mayweather of MMA with a 30-0 record

‘Honestly, I don’t know,’ Nurmagomedov told Yahoo Sports when asked about his retirement. ’30-0 is going to be great. It’s looking good, it sounds good. 30-0, okay. It’s going to be a great record, this is like Mayweather in MMA. We’ll see, I’m very close to it.’ 

The Russian believes that beating Gaethje in next weekend’s main event at UFC 254 will help him achieve that goal having seen off the likes of fierce rival McGregor in the past. 

Nurmagomedov believes his bad-blooded fight with McGregor will be remembered in 50 years time and even compared it to Muhammad Ali’s Thriller in Manila. 

‘Okay, I finish Justin Gaethje, I finish one more guy, I dominate him — I think my name is going to be always in history,’ he added. ‘I think already my name is going to be in history because two years ago what happened [vs. McGregor] is never going to be forgotten.

Mayweather (left) retired with a perfect 50-0 record after beating Conor McGregor (R) in 2017

Nurmagomedov will take his record to 29-0 if he beats Justin Gaethje (pictured) at UFC 254

‘Even after 50 years, people are going to watch this fight and be impressed. This is like when Muhammad Ali fought [Joe] Frazier in Manila. People never forget this fight.’ 

Should the 32-year-old beat Gaethje in this weekend’s blockbuster fight, a career-finish bout with UFC legend George St-Pierre looks to be on the cards.

The Canadian retired in February 2019 as one of the greats but a shot at a legacy fight against the dominant champion could be too good to turn down for the 39-year-old.

And GSP’s coach believes that fight could become a reality.

‘Georges vs. Khabib, I think, is the only fight Georges will come back for, to be honest with you,’ Firas Zahabi told Sherdog. 

Georges St-Pierre’s trainer has admitted the Canadian could be temped out of retirement 

‘I think it’s the only one, if Khabib – we’re all expecting him to win his next fight – does it in decisive fashion, I think it will greatly increase the odds that he fights Georges in the future.

‘If he loses, there would be no possibility in Georges’ mind. But if he has a great performance – which I think he will – I think that ups the chances greatly. Let’s just say that. 

‘If he has a stellar performance, I think it will be a 50 percent chance that it entices Georges to come back for one more fight.’