What are Khabib Nurmagomedov’s options after UFC 254 bout against Justin Gaethje?

The UFC events that are being held on Fight Island, in Abu Dhabi, are going down a storm with fight fans, and the upcoming UFC 254 looks set to be the best one yet. A Lightweight unification bout between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Justin Gaethje will headline the October 24^th card – and it’s being billed as a potential contender for the Fight of the Year!

Gaethje, who has stopped 19 of his 24 opponents, is considered to be The Eagle’s toughest opponent to date. However – according to the latest Khabib odds – the bookmakers are backing the Russian to keep his 28-fight unbeaten record intact.

With the fight just a matter of weeks away, attention has already started to turn to what is next for Khabib. Should he overcome the challenge of The Highlight, Khabib claims that UFC President Dana White has promised him ‘something special.’

“I don’t think (I’ll retire after this fight). We have a couple (of) options. We’re going to think about this after this fight,” Khabib said.

“Dana told me after this fight, he has something special for me.

“But I told him, please keep this, after fight we’re going to talk. He says he has very big things after this fight for me. We’ll see.”

With that in mind, let’s take a look at some of Khabib’s future options. Read on to find out more!

Tony Ferguson

A much-anticipated bout against Tony Ferguson seems to be Khabib’s most likely option. Since 2015, the pair have been due to fight on five occasions, but, due to multiple injuries, illnesses, and the coronavirus pandemic, the bout has never actually materialised. UFC President Dana White told Sports Illustrated that, if Khabib beats Gaethje at UFC 254, then he will attempt to schedule the bout for a sixth time.

“If Khabib does beat Gaethje, you get Tony Ferguson another fight [against a different opponent], which we’re working on right now,” White said.

“And hopefully that fight with Khabib [and Ferguson] happens because I know people want to see it.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen a fight fall apart as many times as those two.

“It almost scares me to make the fight again. What’s going to happen? An asteroid comes to earth? That’s the level of bad this thing is.”

Conor McGregor

It’s been just over two years since Khabib and Conor McGregor went toe-to-toe in the Octagon. The Eagle was victorious, forcing the Irish fighter into submission, and the fiery rivals have been linked with a rematch ever since. If Khabib gets past Gaethje, a rematch looked like it was finally going to happen, with the pair due to clash at the end of White’s reality show; The Ultimate Fighter. However, McGregor leaking private messages from the UFC President, on his social media platforms, seems to have put an end to any hope of a second fight.

“[Khabib] was gonna do it until Conor did all this s***,” White told Barstool Sports.

“That’s what I was saying. I felt like I was in a good place and we were going to get that done.

“We were going to do The Ultimate Fighter on ESPN and f***ing do the rematch but Conor blew that.

“Yeah, Khabib said f*** him; that was it.”

Georges St-Pierre

It’s been a year since Georges St-Pierre retired from the sport. White’s refusal to set up a bout between GPS and Khabib was behind his decision to walk away from the UFC for a second time. However, the two-weight world champion has admitted that he would return to the Octagon if the chance to take on The Eagle was to come up.

“If I come back, it would be for one fight,” St-Pierre told ESPN.

“And I need to take, for me, the biggest fish. And the top guy right now, the name is Khabib.

“As a fighter, the most exciting thing is to take the guy who seems invincible, unbeatable. He has the aura of invincibility. But it’s also the scariest thing to do.”

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The Russian has also been linked with swapping the octagon for the boxing ring, with Floyd Mayweather and Canelo Álvarez possible opponents. However, sticking to MMA seems to be a far more likely option for Khabib.