Khabib Nurmagomedov plans to hang up his gloves after a 'couple' more fights.
Russian fighter Khabib, 31, holds the lightweight title with a perfect unbeaten record from his 27 fights to date.
He recently confirmed a long-awaited fight with Tony Ferguson was in the works, while fans continue to hope for a rematch against Conor McGregor .
But during a press conference in Moscow, Khabib admitted: "My retirement is coming. A couple of fights more.”
He added: "It would be wrong to talk about what I’m going to do after that because I’m currently working on different projects.
"I’ll work on them later. I won’t get lost for sure.”
Khabib went on to admit he is hopeful countryman Islam Makhachev will succeed him at the summit of the lightweight field.
“I don’t want to leave my belt for any Tom, Dick or Harry. I want the succession of generations to happen," he added.
"I want to leave the belt and Islam Makhachev to take it.
“It would be great if my retirement coincided with Islam’s title shot.”
Khabib's finest hour came with his win over Conor McGregor in October 2018 and recently told the Irishman he must win 10 straight matches to face him again.
“As for a rematch, to fight for a belt in the UFC, I remember I had something like nine or 10 fights. If he wins 10 fights in a row, then that’s completely possible,” Nurmagomedov said.
His comments on his retirement would suggest a rematch with the Irishman is now unlikely.
