Conor McGregor vs Khabib Nurmagomedov rematch wanted by Dana White and UFC boss seen entering office to discuss ‘offer he can’t refuse’

Dana White revealed he is currently having his long awaited meeting with Khabib Nurmagomedov.

The UFC boss met the lightweight champion in Abu Dhabi ahead of the first Fight Island card and is tasked with trying to convince the Russian to make a U-turn on his decision to retire.

2

It is thought The Eagle is at least open to the idea of returning to the cage.

Khabib walked away from the sport after defeating Justin Gaethje at UFC 254 last October with a 29-0 record, having promised his mother this would be his last fight and he didn't want to fight on without his late father, Abdulmanap, in his corner.

White has maintained hope all along that he might be able to persuade Khabib to return and the lure of fulfilling his father's wishes of either facing Georges St-Pierre or getting to 30-0 are certainly there.

White, meanwhile, has also talked about seeing the champion rematch with Conor McGregor.

And according to Khabib's coach, Javier Mendez, the king maker is set to pull out all the stops to get Khabib to return.

Mendez told : "I think Dana has it in his mind to give him an offer he can't refuse.

"Let's face it, how many times has Dana failed at doing something he wanted to do? Not much. Dana does what he says."

Ultimately, it may come down to what Khabib's mother thinks.

If she still doesn't want to see her son fight, it's unlikely the Russian would go against that. However, Mendez thinks White will give the Nurmagomedov family a lot to think about.

The AKA chief said: "I think that if his mother says no, it's no.

"But, I wouldn't rule out the fact that Dana gives him something to talk to his mother about and get her blessing."

So does Mendez think Khabib's return will happen?

2

He said: "I wouldn't rule that [a return] out whatsoever. No way, no way.

"As far as I'm concerned, retired, not retired, fighting, not fighting, it's all open.

"He's young, he's 32. So for me, I look at it like, 'Okay, what do you want?'

"'Oh, coach, let's start training.' Okay. 'Coach, come help me train the team.' Okay."