Khabib: I didn't contemplate return amid White's pursuit

Khabib Nurmagomedov says he never considered returning to the Octagon despite UFC president Dana White's attempts to bring him back.

"Dana called (my retirement) official (this week), but I retired like five, six months ago," Nurmagomedov told UFC reporter Megan Olivi on Saturday. "It's very funny. Dana told me when he posted this, he said someone wrote a comment about, 'Hey, he retired not today, he retired like five months ago.'"

Nurmagomedov hung up his gloves after a win over Justin Gaethje during UFC 254 in October, which marked his third lightweight title defense, and it extended his professional record to 29-0. "The Eagle" cited his father's death and a promise he made to his mother as the reasons for his retirement.

For months, White urged Nurmagomedov to come back for one more fight, saying as recently as January that the 32-year-old hadn't entirely closed the door on a return. But Nurmagomedov continues to insist he's made the right decision, and White finally acknowledged last week that his retirement is official.

"It's very hard when you have power, when you're the best in the world, when you're famous, when you have money, (to say no to) these things," Nurmagomedov said. "This is very hard. People (are) maybe never going to understand me, but I really hope they are going to support my decision."

"(Because of) my relationship with my mother, I feel I have to stop," he added. "I feel like in every fight, in every training camp, this takes some age off of my mother."

When asked what he wants his legacy to be now, Nurmagomedov said that's not for him to decide.

"Honestly, I don't know," he said. "This is the people's decision. When I was fighting, my job was to smash my opponents. And I did this perfectly. Nobody was close. I defended my title three times. I don't know, this is the people's decision."