Khabib Nurmagomedov expects the winner of the Conor McGregor-Dustin Poirier bout to fight for the UFC lightweight championship.
Khabib stunningly announced his retirement from the octagon after beating Justin Gaethje to defend the lightweight title at UFC 254 in October as he improved to 29-0, though the 32-year-old remains the champion.
As McGregor and Poirier prepare for their January 23 clash at UFC 257 in Abu Dhabi, Khabib believes the winner will go on to compete for his crown.
"Top three [lightweight] fighters right now? Poirier, McGregor and [Islam] Makhachev. He is not in the top-five yet, but those are the best fighters," Khabib told Match TV.
"My belt will be taken by the winner of Dustin and Conor."
@TheNotoriousMMA face-offs are as intense as they come! We're days until he returns vs Poirier.
— UFC (@ufc) December 29, 2020
[ #UFC257 | #InAbuDhabi | @VisitAbuDhabi ] pic.twitter.com/iMjouRm5jE
Khabib has continued to insist he will not come out of retirement to fight in the UFC, and the Russian added: "[UFC president] Dana White and I are constantly in touch -- the moment about the vacancy of the belt was not discussed.
"It seems to me that this is because the organisation really wants me to resume my career.
"This is understandable -- I spent nine years in the league, I had many fights, became a champion, defended the title, never lost, I have a huge fan base from around the world.
"My performances are already a kind of history. The desire of the UFC is understandable to me, I don't blame them. I will not hide -- they [try to] persuade me to return.
"There's nothing surprising about that. They offer conditions, fighters -- but it is hard to surprise me; they have no one to offer me. Soon, in a couple of weeks, we'll be meeting with Dana to discuss."