Dana White Reveals When Khabib Nurmagomedov Will Return To The UFC Following The Death Of His Father

Dana White insists that he does not think Khabib Nurmagomedov's UFC title defence against Justin Gaethje is under any threat despite the tragic death of his father.

Nurmagomedov's father and trainer, Abdulumanap, sadly passed away after a series of compilations from COVID-19.

But the UFC boss does not believe the undefeated champion wants to stand down from his clash with Gaethje at UFC 253.

When asked about the upcoming pay-per-view event in September, he replied: "I don't think it's off the table. I'm just waiting to hear from him. I'm not messing with Khabib."

The 50-year-old added: "I'm leaving him alone until he's ready to talk and letting him mourn and do what he has to do.

"I reached out to him the day of... I haven't heard back from him since."

Nurmagomedov hasn't fought since his submission victory over Dustin Poirier last September at UFC 242.

He was supposed to face Tony Ferguson at UFC 249 in April before the global pandemic forced him out of the main-event bout.

Gaethje stepped up on short notice at UFC 249 and went onto beat Ferguson to claim the UFC interim lightweight title to earn a shot at Nurmagomedov.

Topics: Khabib Nurmagomedov, Justin Gaethje, UFC News, Fight News, UFC, Dana White

Nasir Jabbar

Nasir Jabbar is a journalist at SPORTbible. He graduated from Bath Spa University with a BA in Media Communications. He's a combat sport aficionado, and has contributed to MMA websites AddictedMMA and CagePotato. Nasir has covered some of the biggest fights, while interviewing the likes of Conor McGregor, Darren Till, Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua. He's also an avid Bristol City fan.

@https://twitter.com/NasJabbar