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White to press Khabib for 1 more fight in upcoming meeting

Josh Hedges / UFC / Getty

UFC president Dana White is intent on doing everything he can to get Khabib Nurmagomedov inside the Octagon one more time.

The two are set to meet in Abu Dhabi next week amid the promotion's third trip to Fight Island. It will be their first meeting since the lightweight champion announced his retirement in October.

White has made it clear on several occasions he thinks Nurmagomedov should go for 30-0, and will again make his case for one of his biggest stars to return and make history.

"I'm obviously meeting with him because I think that he should fight again," White told ESPN's Brett Okamoto. "Look at what he did to Justin Gaethje (in October). Look at what he's done to every opponent he has faced ... I think he should fight again and I'm going to press him as hard as I can for one more."

The timing of the meeting coincides with the lightweight clash between Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier - the two men Nurmagomedov beat before taking down Gaethje - in the main event at UFC 257 on Jan. 23.

Nurmagomedov's decision to retire upon beating Gaethje came shortly after the death of his father and coach, Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov.

While White understands the lightweight king's decision, the UFC president has long sought to make a rematch with McGregor following a record-setting first matchup.

"As a promoter, you always want to see the best guys in the world, but at the same time, when a guy wants to retire, he probably should," White said. "The difference with a guy like Khabib is he's been through so much, and losing his dad was a major blow to him. Yet, his dad wanted him to hit 30-0.

"No matter what you think of Conor personally, Conor McGregor is not only one of the best in the world, but one of the best to ever do it. And right now, he's as focused as he's ever been. I don't know if this is going to be the same Conor after the Poirier fight, but if this Conor sticks around for the next year, how do you not do Khabib vs. Conor again?"

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