Daniel Cormier recalls the stunning moment he knew Khabib Nurmagomedov’s career was over

Daniel Cormier trained for years with ‘The Eagle’ at the American Kickboxing Academy, giving him a closer insight into the former lightweight champion than most people have.

Even so, regarding Khabib’s retirement, it took a while for Cormier to come around. It was not until later that he fully accepted the Dagestani’s fighting days were truly behind him.

Speaking on his Good Guy/Bad Guy show on ESPN MMA’s YouTube channel, Cormier recalled the moment it became clear that Nurmagomedov would not change his mind.

“That is so far from ever happening, Khabib fighting again.

“The moment Khabib sat on the top-25 UFC fighters of all time and told us that they had offered him $40 million, and he said no, I said, ‘This dude is never fighting.’

“Calling him out is like calling out the Pope…he’s not gonna fight.”

Cormier first brought up that huge proposal during a YouTube video posted last year.

“Khabib told us he turned down $40 million. He said $40 million, the dude said $40 million. To come back, to fight in the UFC.

“I don’t know how many fights he was meaning; I don’t know what event. He just said, ‘I turned away $40 million brother; I’m done.’”

Offers keep coming in for Khabib Nurmagomedov, but not for MMA

Nurmagomedov has always been clear about his decision to retire, but that has not stopped offers from coming in even now.

While he is no longer being linked to a return to MMA, he is still regularly approached for grappling matches. Despite the ongoing interest, Khabib has made it clear he is not planning a return to competition in any form.

“They keep offering me grappling,” he said on the Hustle Show. “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.’”

‘The Eagle’ added: “[I] never even thought about [accepting a comeback offer].”