Dana White claimed he once offered Khabib Nurmagomedov a fight against Kamaru Usman. According to White, Usman is the best welterweight of all time. The UFC CEO has immense respect for Khabib and his team. He wanted the pair to take on each other but one man was left unhappy with the idea.
During the Pound 4 Pound podcast hosted by Kamaru Usman and Henry Cejudo, Dana White made an appearance as a guest. The trio discussed all things UFC. White mentioned Usman’s manager Ali Abdelaziz several times during the podcast as he was present in the audience. Ali also manages Islam Makhachev and used to manage Khabib.
(Watch from 15:20 minutes)
White was explaining how Usman had never turned down a fight. However, his manager Ali had turned down fights on his behalf. “You have never f*cking turned down a fight that’s a fact… Ali has turned down a few fights Kamaru has never turned down a fight.”
White narrated a story where he “blindsided” Ali. White said, “He [Ali] was sitting in there with Khabib in the kitchen and I went in there and offered him a fight. In the kitchen, for you [Usman].”
While talking about this, the UFC CEO kept mentioning a documentary. He said that Ali would love this documentary. On the other hand, White was referring to the fact that Ali was unhappy with Khabib being offered this fight.
Dana White proclaims Kamaru Usman as the greatest welterweight fighter
Dana White talked about how UFC champions go through the toughest fights, unlike boxers who go an insane amount of fights undefeated in their careers. The UFC chief mentioned Usman and his reign as a champion. He claimed, “You might not like whatever it is you don’t like about him but you cannot f*cking deny that he’s the greatest welterweight of all time.”
Usman was visibly surprised by such a confession from White. On the other hand, Cejudo was excited by the confession and tried to hype up Usman.
Usman won the UFC Welterweight Championship at UFC 235 against Tyron Woodley. He defended the title five times before Leon Edwards defeated him at UFC 278. Edwards won the rematch as well months later at UFC 286. In his last fight, Usman took up a short-notice fight against Khamzat Chimaev at middleweight. He lost that fight but justified White’s claim that he never turned down any fights.
Dana White has immense respect for Khabib Nurmagomedov and his team
There is no love lost between Khabib, his team, and Dana White. Khabib is one of the greatest fighters to grace the Octagon and also was a top PPV star. He has sold massive amounts of PPV in his career earning the UFC some big bucks.
In a recently resurfaced video, White was seen getting emotional while watching an animated video of Khabib’s life story. Ali commented on the video “Love Dana”.
(Watch from 10:40 minutes)
Moreover, in a recent episode of the Games with Names podcast, White showed immense respect for the story of Khabib’s team and where they have come from. He said, “You know, we talk about, you know, Khabib’s crew could come in here and probably wipe out half this country on their own. These dudes are so tough and nasty and come from such a tough upbringing. Like, fucking men. Yeah, you talk about men. These dudes are like nasty dudes.”
White has had issues with most of the great champions of the company including Demetrious Johnson, Jon Jones, and Francis Ngannou. Surprisingly, Khabib and White have never had any issues between them.