The Unbreakable $40 Million Promise

In a way, Jon Jones’ withdrawal from UFC 295 was rather symbolic.

Between vacating the light heavyweight to move up a division earlier this year, and stepping aside for an interim champion to be crowned in his absence… it was as if we witnessed a changing of the guard.

While I have no doubt the reigning GOAT will return for his hotly-anticipated retirement fight, he won’t be around for much longer. And as it stands, light heavyweight king/newly-minted double champion Alex Pereira and interim heavyweight king Tom Aspinall now represent the new faces of the UFC.

This is particularly evident with the latter, who also represents the new breed of UFC heavyweights alongside the likes of Ciryl Gane and — prior to trading the Octagon for boxing/PFL — ex-champion Francis Ngannou. In days gone past, the big boys were (more often than not) two-dimensional brawlers with dynamite in their hands, though not much else.

In Aspinall, Gane, as well as the presently injured Jones, we have so much more. Aside from the power that comes with being among the apex predators of weight classes, there’s:

• speed like never before

• next-level fight IQ

• and incredibly refined technical ability

Now, we patiently await the (almost) inevitable Jon Jones vs Tom Aspinall. What an exciting time to be a combat sports fan.

Khabib Nurmagomedov’s
Stunning $40 Million Rejection

October 24th, 2020. UFC 254. Fight Island. After dismantling Justin Gaethje inside of two rounds — unifying the lightweight title and improving his professional record to 29-0 in the process — Khabib “The Eagle” Nurmagomedov shocked the world by announcing his retirement.

The Dagestani talent was seemingly at the very height of his powers. But the untimely passing of his father and longtime coach, Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov, followed by a promise to his mother had solidified the decision.

“This fight was like no other,” Khabib told RT Sport post-UFC 254.

“The emotions in this fight were completely different. Everything was completely different without my father.”

Since then, there have obviously been multiple offers fired his way for a potential return. Whether it was against career nemesis Conor McGregor, who is apparently still out for vengeance, or the five-time cancelled Tony Ferguson bout… UFC President Dana was willing to cough up boxing-level paycheques to entice his golden goose.

This week, Khabib Nurmagomedov himself revealed the financial dimensions of what Uncle Dana had been dangling.

“When you’re the best fighter in the world, when you’re strong enough, when you have money, when you’re famous, it’s very hard to say no to all these things,” started the undefeated future Hall of Famer.

“It’s very hard. It’s not easy. It’s not easy [to] just say no to 20, 30, 40 million dollars. But for myself, it’s not everything. This is not most important. It was not an easy decision, but if I decide, I decide.”

“It’s finished. I leave this alone. I am happy and I never regret my decision. Never.”

While you’d question how definitive this statement is if it were to come from any other athlete’s mouth, with Khabib, we’re not just dealing with a man of devout Islamic faith. We’re dealing with a man bound by his word. Though according to his former head coach Javier Mendez, the promotion was “close” to pulling him back in.

“The UFC were trying to get him to come back and he came close,” said Mendez.

“You saw it when we were in Abu Dhabi. He said, ‘If someone shows me something spectacular then maybe I’ll come back.’ It was Conor [McGregor] vs [Dustin] Poirier that night, but it did not get Khabib excited.”

Mendez continued: “He said if something excited him on that card then maybe he’d consider it… UFC was pushing him, but nothing excited him, so it was no-go.”

American Kickboxing Academy’s founder also noted how (amusingly enough), Dana White refused to remove Khabib Nurmagomedov from both the testing pool and the rankings to keep the possibility of a blockbuster return alive.

“But then Khabib had enough of being tested, so he told Dana he didn’t want to test anymore and that he’s not coming back. He was roughly tested for about eight months before he had enough,” added Javier Mendez.

If 40 big ones and the prospect of becoming 30-0 isn’t enough to unretire you, I suppose nothing will.

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