Khabib Nurmagomedov retirement talk will take five minutes, says Dana White

UFC President Dana White says his retirement talk with unbeaten lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov should only take five minutes.

Nurmagomedov last fought in October, when he elevated his pro record to 29-0 with a second-round submission of Justin Gaethje. In his post-fight interview with Jon Anik, he shocked viewers by announcing his retirement from mixed martial arts.

“This was my last fight,” a visibly emotional Nurmagomedov said. “Today’s my last fight in the UFC.”

Despite this announcement from Nurmagomedov, White has been adamant that he will push the unbeaten Russian star to fight once more and attempt take his record to 30-0.

“I’m obviously meeting with him because I think that he should fight again,” White told ESPN recently. “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 will finally meet with Nurmagomedov in a few days’ time in Abu Dhabi. Despite the weighty nature of the conversation, the UFC boss doesn’t expect it to take more than a few minutes because, as he puts it, it’s really a two-outcome situastion.

“It’s going to be a five-minute conversation,” White told MMA Junkie on Wednesday. “It’s yes or no. It’s yes or no.

“When I left Abu Dhabi last time, and he and I were texting, we went back and forth on why I think he should keep fighting,” White said. “He was super emotional coming out of that fight [with Gaethje]. He’s had time now to rest, think about it, all the other things. This is going to be a five-minute conversation. … I think he’ll fight, but we’ll see. It’s not going to be an argument or a lengthy conversation. It’s going to be a ‘yes’ or ‘no.’”

Do you think Dana White can convince Khabib Nurmagomedov to fight again?