UFC president Dana White believes that Khabib Nurmagomedov retired too early to be considered the greatest fighter of all time.
Nurmagomedov was the UFC lightweight champion for two-and-a-half years, and in the process defeated the likes of Conor McGregor, Dustin Poirier and Justin Gaethje.
And not only did the Russian win all 29 of his professional fights, but he was barely touched on his way to 13 UFC wins after 16 on the regional scene.
He defeated four champions in McGregor, Poirier, Gaethje and Rafael Dos Anjos, but retired at the age of just 32 after the death of his father and coach Abdulmanap.
And White believes it's his early retirement that has stopped Nurmagomedov becoming the undisputed number on in MMA history.
“It’s so hard,” White said during an episode of The Fight with Teddy Atlas when he was asked to pick the greatest fighter in history.
“Chuck Liddell and Ronda Rousey are two people who really helped build this business, you know, super loyal.
“Right now, I think Kamaru Usman is the pound-for-pound best fighter in the world, what he’s accomplished in the past few years is amazing…
“I think Khabib Nurmagomedov probably could be called the greatest ever, who knows, if he’d stuck around longer.
"It was unfortunate, the passing of his father."
Nurmagomedov's father was diagnosed with coronavirus in the early part of the pandemic, and later died of heart complications.
After his dad's passing, his mother requested that he retire from the sport to spend more time with his family, and he now coaches and has launched his own promotion Eagle FC.
“He’s just gotten to a point in his life where you’ve got so much money it changes everything," White added.
“The fight business is a tough business to get up and go to every day when you’ve got that kind of money.”
Nurmagomedov's crowning moment was also one of his most shameful; when he defeated Conor McGregor in dominant fashion with a fourth round rear naked choke at UFC 229.
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The fight was the biggest in promotional history due to the ferocious bad blood between the duo that had seen McGregor at one point spend a night behind bars after attacking a bus the Russian was on ahead of a title fight.
And after the normally stoic Russian submitted McGregor in the championship rounds, he uncharacteristically jumped out of the cage and attacked the Irishman's teammate Dillon Danis, which incited a larger brawl between teams.
He would go on to defeat Poirier and then Gaethje in the Middle East before finishing his career last year despite multiple attempts from White to have him compete once more.
There are only two rounds in Nurmagomedov's 13-fight UFC career that have gone against him on the judges' scorecards, including one in his fight with McGregor.
He most recently turned down a $100million offer from Floyd Mayweather for an exhibition boxing match.
