Khabib Nurmagomedov turned down Floyd Mayweather fight before Logan Paul bout

Former UFC lightweight champion Nurmagomedov has said that he was offered a bout with Mayweather a year ago, just weeks before the boxing legend announced he would face YouTube star Paul

Video Loading

Video Unavailable

The video will auto-play soon8Cancel

Play now

Usman Nurmagomedov: Khabib could be a better coach than fighter

Khabib Nurmagomedov has said that he was offered a money-spinning exhibition bout with Floyd Mayweather just weeks before it was announced he would face Logan Paul.

The legendary UFC fighter, who was undefeated during his career, retired late last year after the death of his father Abdulmanap.

But that didn’t stop UFC President Dana White, as well as legendary boxer Mayweather, from making huge offers to entice him to compete once more.

White refused to confirm Nurmagomedov was retired until earlier this year, despite the announcement in October 2020, and Mayweather reportedly offered a massive nine-figure deal for an exhibition with the Russian.

Asked about the rumoured offer by ESPN, Nurmagomedov confirmed that it was made “about one year ago”, which would mean it came just weeks before the initial Mayweather vs Paul announcement.

Mayweather and YouTube star Paul were supposed to fight in February, after a December announcement last year, but it was later moved to June.

And Nurmagomedov said that no amount of money could entice him back to combat sports, given that he is not particularly motivated by increasing his bank balance.

“Dana asked Ali [Abdelaziz, Nurmagomedov’s manager] ‘why doesn’t Khabib ever ask how much money I’m going to give him?’,” he explained.

“It’s very interesting, sometimes, people don’t understand me because of I don’t know what, but everybody likes money and it’s important.

“But for me, it is not everything, I have money, I’m good and if God gives me time to spend my money, it’d be very good for me.

“Making money is one thing, but the second thing is knowing how you’re going to spend it.

“The first part is finished, now I’m concerned about how I’m going to spend my money and my time.

“My faith, everything God gave me, it makes me want to know how to spend it.

“One day, your life, the belt, everything you’ve done, is going to come to an end and with sport, I’m finished.

“Now I have my life, which is a different sport, not like MMA, it’s real life coming in.”

Would you have liked to see Khabib Nurmagomedov fight Floyd Mayweather? Let us know in the comments section!

Nurmagomedov’s retirement came as a shock to many after a dominant career in which he took minimal damage despite fighting Conor McGregor, Dustin Poirier and Justin Gaethje.

He handily defeated top lightweight Gaethje, who was interim champion at the time, before announcing that after his mother requested he stop competing, he would finish in the sport.

The Russian competed in some of the biggest fights in the sport’s history, most notably his intense grudge match with rival McGregor in October 2018 in Las Vegas.

The pair had a vicious hatred for one another, and it translated to pay-per-view sales with the fight becoming the highest grossing in the sport’s history to date.

Mayweather was also undefeated in his iconic boxing career, and went the eight round distance with Paul in their eventual match-up this summer.