Khabib Nurmagomedov has retired because he is scared of a rematch with Conor McGregor.
That is the view of the Irishman's teammate Dillon Danis who made the claim in a now-deleted tweet.
Nurmagomedov announced his retirement following his dominant victory over Justin Gaethje at UFC 254 on Saturday night.
He revealed he had promised his mum he would not fight on without his father who passed away earlier this year after contracting Covid-19.
McGregor himself paid tribute to his bitter rival to whom he too had lost in 2018 when he was choked out in the fourth round.
He tweeted: "Good performance Khabib. I will carry on. Respect and condolences on your father again also. To you and family. Yours sincerely, The McGregors."
But his training partner Danis, who fights with the Bellator promotion, took a different view.
"Khabib is retiring because he's scared of Conor McGregor," he wrote before swiftly removing the tweet.
Nurmagomedov retired with a record of 29-0 having beaten McGregor, Gaethje and Dustin Poirier in his final three fights.
He burst into tears following his victory in Abu Dhabi before placing his gloves on the canvas to signal his retirement.
"First of all, I want to say Alhamdulillah. God gives me everything. Thank you these guys, these guys with me and with my father for more than 20 years," he said.
"She doesn't me to go and fight without my father. But I promise her it's going to be my last fight.
"And if I keep my word, I have to follow this. It was my last fight here.
"I know only one thing I want from UFC on Tuesday: you guys have to put me as number one pound-for-pound fighter in the world because I deserve this.
"Undisputed UFC lightweight champion, 13-0. 13 in the UFC and 29 in all my pro UFC career. I think I deserve this."
