Dana White will “press” Khabib Nurmagomedov to fight again, likes Conor McGregor rematch

UFC president Dana White says he will “press” Khabib Nurmagomedov to fight again, and he likes the Conor McGregor rematch.

Nurmagomedov is still the UFC lightweight champion but his status as an active fighter is up in the air following his quasi-retirement. After submitting Justin Gaethje at UFC 254, Nurmagomedov announced his retirement from the sport. However, White has said that he will talk to Nurmagomedov in Abu Dhabi in an effort to convince him to return for one more fight and try and reach the perfect 30-0 mark.

Speaking to ESPN.com’s Brett Okamoto, White confirmed he will be meeting with Nurmagomedov this week, where he said he will “press” him to fight once again.

“I’m obviously meeting with him because I think that he should fight again. Look at what he did to Justin Gaethje. Look at what he’s done to every opponent he has faced. I think he should fight again and I’m going to press him as hard as I can for one more,” White said.

While Nurmagomedov has said in the past that a superfight against UFC legend Georges St-Pierre, White said that the fight he has in mind is a rematch between Nurmagomedov and McGregor, who takes Dustin Poirier at UFC 257. Should McGregor emerge victoriously, White wants to set up the rematch with the champ.

“No matter what you think of Conor personally, Conor McGregor is not only one of the best in the world, but one of the best to ever do it. And right now, he’s as focused as he’s ever been. I don’t know if this is going to be the same Conor after the Poirier fight, but if this Conor sticks around for the next year, how do you not do Khabib vs. Conor again?” White said.

Do you think Dana White will be successful in trying to coax Khabib Nurmagomedov out of retirement?