Media Dustin Poirier says Khabib held up division and cost him title. Was Khabib worried about Conor being champion?

Wait i'm confused here..
Didn't khabib retired right after the justin fight ?
If i remember it's the ufc that tried hard to convice him not to. But his decision was made due to a promise he did to his mom since the loss of his father.
 
What a weird statement.

Dustin fought Khabib, Charles and Islam for the title and lost all three via finish.

He's had plenty opportunities. Not counting a second shot at a promotional BMF-title.

Also Khabib never stalled. Fighters in the UFC don't vacate titles on their own, the UFC has to strip them. Only way for Khabib to actually relinquish his title at the time would be to exit the USADA testing pool, something he obv. didn't want to do.

Dana himself said, he was the one who refused to accept Khabibs retirement and tried to get him to fight one more. Once it finally sunk in that Khabib isn't interested, Dana approved of the title vacation and Charles vs Chandler was booked right away.
 
Dustin 'Diamond Excuses' Poirier. Max vs Poirier is the battle of the salt shaker, really. Two severely salty guys fighting. Who is going to grind out more salt.

He has gotten many title challenges and he lost everytime. That is the root cause. Blaming Khabib makes him look petty. He is salty because he is retiring, but does not want to retire deep down. Khabib might have held the belt for a while, but that has nothing to do with the fact that he was given several opportunities to win the belt and he lost every time.
 
moosaev said:
When did you start watching mma? Dana was the one that stalled, Khabib retired and said he wasn’t coming back. He can’t unilaterally vacate the belt, that’s the ufc’s job.
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GSP vacated the belt by his own choice. Twice BTW. It can be done but most are not able to let it go. I think Khabib may well have done it so Conor did not get another winnable title fight. Jones 100% was playing the game regarding his title and refusing to vacate.
 
koa pomaikai said:
www.essentiallysports.com

Dustin Poirier Blames Conor McGregor, Khabib Nurmagomedov for UFC’s “Uncrowned” Champ Status

Dustin Poirier points to Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor as he reveals why he deserved the undisputed UFC lightweight crown!
www.essentiallysports.com

Khabib’s last fight with Justin was on 10/04/2020, Khabib knew he wasn’t going to fight again but held the belt….

Dustin vs Conor was on 01/23/2021 and had Khabib vacated the belt before this date, Dustin vs Conor would have been for title shot at 155 (almost certainly UFC would have made this for the 155 belt, especially it being Mcgregor)

I think Khabib didn’t vacate until after Poirier vs Mcgregor so he can deny Mcgregor the title (inadvertently denied Poirier)

Khabib’s hatred for Conor is unmatched, he’s even telling children 10 years after the fight how he wish he could have killed Conor.



Do you think Khabib held up the division to deny Mcgregor a title shot?
Click to expand...

I think that was more Dana than Khabib. I think (my vague recollection) Khabib was basically saying "I'm done," and Dana was the one saying "now, don't be hasty, take some time and make sure this is what you really want" because Khabib was a dominant champion and that's easier to sell on the top of PPV cards.
 
That's not what the article says or the interview it's referencing. He said he thinks the UFC were expecting Conor to win so they could try to lure Khabib into a rematch, even though Khabib made it clear he wasn't coming back.
 
Even setting aside the fact that Khabib was very clear about his intention to never fight again after his bout with Justin, I don’t know what insane logic you’re using to say that Poirier v McGregor would or should have been for a vacant title if Khabib had retired prior to their bout. Both were riding a staggering 1 fight win streak in which Dustin went life and death with Hooker and Conor clobbered an over the hill cowboy who had been tkod twice in the 7 months prior to their bout.

Not saying it’s impossible that it could have been for the vacant title in that situation, although it definitely should not have been, but it would have been pretty unlikely, and at the very least not NEARLY likely enough as to make it foreseeable to the point that it drove Khabib to hold off his retirement just to avoid that outcome.
 
koa pomaikai said:
They didn’t strip him in march either. He vacated in march.

GSP said he was done and immediately gave them back the belt, pissing Dana off.

Khabib is very attached to his belt, after Poirier beat Conor he said he thought Poirier should be champion. He waited until Poirier beat Conor, then immediately says Poirier should be champ, he knew if he vacated early, Mcgregor would get a shot and he hates Mcgregor.

www.espn.com

Khabib says Poirier 'deserves to be a champion'

Khabib Nurmagomedov told Match TV that Dustin Poirier deserves to be the UFC's lightweight champion.
www.espn.com www.espn.com

Honestly, I think if Mcgregor beat Poirier, there’s a much better chance Khabib doesn’t retire, just to keep Mcgregor from the belt, I don’t think you understand just how much Khabib hates Mcgregor, it’s extremely personal.

He was holding that belt to see how Mcgregor v Poirier turns out.
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maybe. you have some good points. But he did say he was retired pretty quickly after last fight.
 
"I should have been gifted the title for beating Conor"
 
Lol, Khabib has always been pretty explicit that he had retired and would not come back. In the meantime Dana did everything he could to pester him about rematching conor. Dana doesnt like taking no for an answer. If Dustin has griefs about that he should ask Dana.
 
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gimmick122 said:
What cost him the title was losing to Khabib, Charles and Islam for the title.
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No, the UFC fucked that one up just like the Jones situation. Dustin vs Conor definitely shoulda been for the belt. They had already been told by Khabib that he was done.
 
MMAFanCal said:
Dustin 'Diamond Excuses' Poirier. Max vs Poirier is the battle of the salt shaker, really. Two severely salty guys fighting. Who is going to grind out more salt.

He has gotten many title challenges and he lost everytime. That is the root cause. Blaming Khabib makes him look petty. He is salty because he is retiring, but does not want to retire deep down. Khabib might have held the belt for a while, but that has nothing to do with the fact that he was given several opportunities to win the belt and he lost every time.
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I've watched literally every recent interview of Dustin's this week. There's not one ounce of salt in his blood. Seems like you're reaching pretty hard from one statement. Dustin was #1 ranka, Dana was trying to lure Khabib back with a Conor win, that's the whole reason it wasn't for the belt and they didn't listen to Khabib. Nothing salty about that shit, just the truth. Plus, people including Dustin was saying it should be for the belt before the fight with Conor. Dana pulling Dana shit is what that was.
 
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koa pomaikai said:
They didn’t strip him in march either. He vacated in march.

GSP said he was done and immediately gave them back the belt, pissing Dana off.

Khabib is very attached to his belt, after Poirier beat Conor he said he thought Poirier should be champion. He waited until Poirier beat Conor, then immediately says Poirier should be champ, he knew if he vacated early, Mcgregor would get a shot and he hates Mcgregor.

www.espn.com

Khabib says Poirier 'deserves to be a champion'

Khabib Nurmagomedov told Match TV that Dustin Poirier deserves to be the UFC's lightweight champion.
www.espn.com www.espn.com

Honestly, I think if Mcgregor beat Poirier, there’s a much better chance Khabib doesn’t retire, just to keep Mcgregor from the belt, I don’t think you understand just how much Khabib hates Mcgregor, it’s extremely personal.

He was holding that belt to see how Mcgregor v Poirier turns out.
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Apart from all this, we know it's simply not true that Khabib retired that night as he also demanded to be made P4P #1 in the next rankings update. Only fighters with active status with the UFC can be ranked. Retired fighters are (obviously) ineligible for ranking.

Khabib was indeed ranked P4P #1 at the next rankings meaning he didn't formally in writing inform the UFC of his retirement so that he could still be ranked.
 
Poirierfan said:
I've watched literally every recent interview of Dustin's this week. There's not one ounce of salt in his blood. Seems like you're reaching pretty hard from one statement which I happen to agree with. They were trying to lure Khabib back with a Conor win, that's the whole reason it wasn't for the belt and they didn't listen to Khabib. Nothing salty about that shit, just the truth. Plus, people including Dustin was saying it should be for the belt before the fight with Conor. Dana pulling Dana shit is what that was.
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That guy is a few beers short of a six pack.
 
Happens when a champ fights ONCE a year ....... .maybe. fightibg so few times beefed up his aura but decimated any Goat talks or resume.
 
Why are people in this thread debating whether Khabib stalled and got stripped or if he vacated. Bro fully retired in the octagon directly after the Justin fight. He never ever once after that said or hinted he was coming back. He retired in the cage. End of story. Dana White was stretching it out trying to get him to come back. Khabib vacated, Dana White wouldnt accept it for months. End of story theres no debate.
 
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