His major wins were over Conor McGregor, Dustin Poirier and, of course, Gaethje. Since he walked away from the sport, Nurmagomedov has been linked with a return. The primary bout that has kept being mentioned is the McGregor rematch. So far, there is nothing to indicate that this will happen, nor will Khabib make a return against any opponent.

Nurmagomedov’s Return

“I’m just letting you guys know that, you know, stop all this nonsense [on the internet] regarding Khabib [coming back to the UFC] and me and him training,” Mendez said. “There’s been no such thing happening. We’re not discussing training. We never have. Khabib is still devoted to what he said [about not fighting again]. He’s devoted his time to his family. [And] he’s not working people’s corners. He’s not gonna ever fight. To my knowledge, it has never been spoken about,” Javier Mendez said 

McGregor’s Return

One of Khabib’s former opponents, McGregor, will return to the Octagon this year. Following his loss to Poirier at UFC 264, the Irishman has been absent from the sport. He suffered a broken leg, which required extensive surgery. Since then, his return was delayed following issues with his USADA testing.

McGregor failed to enroll in time for 2023, preventing a return. Fighters must submit two negative samples over six months before they can compete. He failed to do so, but McGregor’s decision to enter the testing pool has now put him in a summer fight against Michael Chandler. The latter has promised to end McGregor’s career.

“It’s going to be a big card, it’s going to be fun, and I finish Conor within the first two rounds and after that, probably end his career. There’s just so much more than what people think about on the surface level.

“I want battlegrounds of epic proportions, I want to stand in the cage with that man, I want to break that man’s will, I want to break his jaw, I want to separate him from consciousness, completely flatline him inside the octagon, and then we say farewell to the sport’s biggest star. Then we can go about our merry way,” McGregor stated 

Khabib may not return, but McGregor’s defeat against the Russian never left him the same. He has lost the last three of his four UFC fights, showing how much his form has declined. Following such a serious injury, there is no guarantee that he will be the same.