Khabib Nurmagomedov fired back after Dana White claimed the former UFC lightweight champion stopped fighting because he made huge money on what White called a “Muslim tour.”
Nurmagomedov retired after submitting Justin Gaethje at UFC 254 in October 2020, leaving MMA with a perfect 29-0 record. At the time, Khabib said he had promised his mother he would not continue fighting without his late father, Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov. White now says money from major Muslim-market appearances also played a part.
White made the claim during a clip shared on X.
“Yeah, Khabib, you know, again, I always said, wait till we get a Muslim world champion, you know, three billion Muslims or whatever. But the problem was, is that he went out on the Muslim tour. He hit Saudi, Abu Dhabi, you know, Qatar, all these places, they rained on him, you know. So he made so much money, he didn’t have to fight.”
Watch White’s clip below:
💰Dana White says Khabib stopped fighting because he made so much money on Muslim world tour
"He hit Saudi, Abu Dhabi, Qatar, and they rained money on him. He made so much money that he didn’t have to fight anymore"
via Prince St Pizza pic.twitter.com/cfc3RIAvhG
— Dovy🔌 (@DovySimuMMA) May 20, 2026
White said money can take away a fighter’s hunger, and he also connected Khabib’s exit to Abdulmanap’s death.
“That’s it, you know, once you make too much money, you’re not hungry at all. And his dad passed away, which I think had a big, had a lot to do with him not wanting to do it anymore.”
Khabib Calls Dana White’s Claim “An Absolute Lie”
Khabib answered through a written message shared by Championship Rounds, denying White’s claim and saying the retirement story has already been explained.
“These are the kinds of headlines I sometimes read online. Of course, I’m not someone who likes to comment on every piece of garbage on the internet, but when Dana says things like this, it spreads everywhere.”
“I’ll say this: I swear by Allah, this is an absolute lie. Nobody ever gave me those millions, and what they’re writing, that I left the sport because I made a lot of money, is also not true. The whole world knows the real truth. I’ve already spoken about this more than once, and there’s no need to repeat it.”
Here is Khabib’s response:
Khabib Nurmagomedov fired back at Dana White's claim that he retired from MMA because he made a lot of money from his "Muslim Tour"
"I'm not someone who likes to comment on every piece of garbage on the internet, but when Dana says things like this it spreads everywhere.
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) May 20, 2026
Khabib’s original retirement explanation was direct after UFC 254. He said his mother did not want him fighting without his father, and he promised her the Gaethje fight would be his last. White accepted his retirement in March 2021, and Khabib was later inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame in 2022.
The money angle is separate from past comeback offers. Daniel Cormier previously said Khabib turned down $40 million to fight again, and Khabib has said he was offered major money to end retirement. White’s claim is about outside money from post-title appearances. Khabib denied that version and pointed back to the reason he gave after UFC 254.
