Former UFC heavyweight and light-heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier has claimed Khabib Nurmagomedov has turned down $40million to return to the UFC.
UFC 300, slated for Saturday April 13, is still without a headline fight and rumors have been rife about Khabib returning to the promotion.
The former UFC lightweight champion has not fought since October 2020 and has largely stayed out of the limelight since retiring.
The 35-year-old remains the longest running lightweight champion in UFC history and retired unbeaten as an all-time great.
Cormier questions Khabib return
A return to UFC would be well received by MMA fans but his former training partner, Cormier, has poured cold water on those rumors by claiming the Russian fighter turned down a huge sum of money to reverse his retirement decision.
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Watch from 3 mins onwards for Cormier’s Khabib revelation
“I haven’t spoken to him lately so I don’t imagine that he would come back,” Cormier said on his YouTube channel.
“We did a top 30 UFC fighters of all time and Khabib told us he turned down $40million to come back. To fight in the UFC, I don’t know how many fights he was meaning.
“He just said it. ‘I’ve turned away $40million, brother. I am done’. I don’t know what would prompt him to come back if he is turning that sort of money two years ago.”