No amount of money would make Khabib Nurmagomedov fight Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Mayweather is no stranger to a high-paying boxing-MMA crossover, having fought Conor McGregor in 2017.
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It was reported that approximately $280 million went to Mayweather and $130 million to McGregor for his professional boxing debut.
After the success the first time around the American set his sights on another crossover bout, this time vying for the newly retired Nurmagomedov.
'The Eagle' had retired in 2020 at the age of just 32, following his win against Justin Gaethje at UFC 254.
Shortly after his third successful title defence and final outing, Mayweather put $100million on the line to action their bout.
Should the Russian have been open to return, fans would have seen two undefeated champions in their retrospective sport going head-to-head.
As part of a recent Q&A session in New York, Nurmagomedov explained why he remained firm in his decision to leave his professional record standing at 29-0 and not pursue the paycheque.
He said: “This is a money fight, but I will never do this because I respect legacy.
“If you talk about Mayweather as a man, nobody wants to be like him.
“Look at Muhammad Ali. He’s not with us, but he inspired billions of people, not just Muslims.”
While the Russian legend has continued to receive comeback offers, even outside of the UFC, he has made it clear that the money does not appeal to him.
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For Nurmagomedov, the bout would simply have gone against his morals as he vowed to not fight after the death of his father and longtime coach Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov.
He explained: “They keep offering me grappling. Yeah, grappling offers all the time.
“There wasn’t anyone. They had no opponents. They said, ‘If you agree, we’ll find an opponent for you.
“Never even thought about it [accepting a comeback offer].”
Although, Nurmagomedov had promised his mother that he would remain retired when he first made the move back in 2021 and he seems to be firmly sticking to his word.
What were the highlights of Khabib Nurmagomedov's career?
Since his emergence on to the UFC scene in 2012, no opponent managed to edge a win over the Russian icon.
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At the beginning of his career 'The Eagle' had a busy 2013 as he faced three bouts, with the one ending in a stoppage win and the other two coming from unanimous decision.
Immediately prior to his retirement, Nurmagomedov added three headline wins onto his perfect record.
In his back-to-back lightweight title defences, the Russian successfully kept the belt against Conor McGregor in 2018, Dustin Poirier in 2019 and then Gaethje in 2020.
His impressive UFC record stretched to 13 unbeaten fights.
Since then, no amount of money has tempted him to return to the Octagon.
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