Khabib Nurmagomedov weighed in on Dustin Poirier's likely return to the Octagon in 2025.
Dustin Poirier, after falling to Islam Makhachev at UFC 302, is looking to book a UFC retirement fight next year. After initially teasing an abrupt retirement following UFC 302, Poirier is eager to make at least one more appearance in the cage before ultimately hanging up the gloves.
Poirier and Khabib Nurmagomedov, who retired in 2020 after a win over Justin Gaethje, will forever be linked for their UFC 242 title clash in 2019. Nurmagomedov successfully unified the UFC lightweight titles by beating Poirier in the third round with a rear naked choke submission.
After stepping away from fighting, Nurmagomedov has turned his full-time attention to coaching and mentoring some of the sport's top stars. UFC welterweight champion Belal Muhammad spent his UFC 304 camp with Team Khabib as he prepared for his showdown with Leon Edwards.
Nurmagomedov believes Poirier should walk away and resist all temptation after his upcoming return to the Octagon.
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Khabib Nurmagomedov urges former foe Dustin Poirier to walk away
During a recent interview on the Pound 4 Pound podcast, Nurmagomedov spoke about Poirier's planned retirement battle.
“I think Poirier can beat Charles [Oliveira]and then Poirier has to stop fighting, he's done,” Nurmagomedov said of Poirier. “Justin Gaethje, Khabib, Dustin Poirier, Tony Ferguson. This is old fashioned, brother. Stop fighting.
“We have to recognize the real things.”
Nurmagomedov was in Makhachev's corner for his win against Poirier at UFC 302. As of this writing, Poirier has not yet responded to Nurmagomedov's pleas to retire.
Despite being only 36 years young, Nurmagomedov remains content to retire despite several lucrative offers from UFC CEO Dana White to return. He was briefly linked to a possible fight with fellow UFC Hall of Famer Georges St-Pierre in 2021, but the match never materialized.
Poirier isn't the only former Nurmagomedov rival who has urged 'The Eagle' to abandon the fight in recent years. Nurmagomedov has also publicly urged Tony Ferguson, who is on an eight-fight losing streak, to withdraw from the fight after multiple attempts to book their fight failed during their career.
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Dustin Poirier could welcome Ilia Topuria to the lightweight division
As for a potential opponent for Poirier's return, there are several options on the table, including a possible matchup with Ilia Topuria. After defending the UFC featherweight title at UFC 308, Topuria has teased a move to lightweight and called up Charles Oliveira for his comeback to the division.
Poirier's most recent win came against Benoit Saint-Denis at UFC 299 earlier this year. Before that, Poirier lost for the then-vacant BMF title against Justin Gaethje at UFC 291.
As for Nurmagomedov, he's preparing for what should be a busy coaching night at UFC 311 next month. Khabib's cousin, Umar, fights Merab Dvalishvili in the co-main event, while Makhachev returns one fight later against Arman Tsarukyan.
As Poirier approaches his potential UFC broadcast, Nurmagomedov hopes he will stay on track to retire after one more fight. After game planning against Poirier in his most recent fight, Nurmagomedov wants to see another of the UFC's all-time legends walk away before he takes any additional damage.
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