Khabib Nurmagomedov claims he 'does not fight for money' when asked by Mike Tyson why he turned down $100 million chance to box Floyd Mayweather in Middle East but the UFC star's manager claims they would entertain crossover MMA bout.

 

Retired UFC legend Khabib Nurmagomedov revealed he turned down countless approaches to fight Floyd Mayweather in a boxing contest for $100million because he 'never fights for money.

 

The Russian former MMA star retired from fighting last October after beating Justin Gaethje at UFC 254 and he could not go on fighting without his father who passed away from coronavirus earlier that year alongside him.

 

Khabib revealed before his retirement that he receives offers to take on Mayweather in a Middle East crossover bout 'every month' but the 32 year old told boxing legend Mike Tyson that receiving that amount of money for one fight is 'dangerous' in this industry.

 

He told Mike Tyson, 'I don't want to make  the boxing community upset with me. Of course money makes sense too. But I never fight for money. Money is good, but most of the time it is bad.

 

'Money brings you to the situation that you have never been, and you don't know how to act when you have so much money.

It is a little bit dangerous. In this business, I don't come to make money. I come here for legacy.

 

Khabib retired from UFC with a flawless 29-0 record over the 12 years he spent fighting in the octagon.

 

Mayweather, meanwhile, also never suffered a career defeat inside the ring, holding a 50-0 record with 27 of them knockouts.

 

Khabib's manager, Ali Abdelaziz, confirmed that UFC president Dana White was fully behind the Russian MMA star taking part in a boxing clash, but only wants to entertain Mayweather making the shift over to UFC.

 

Abdelaziz added we got offered $100m (£72m) to fight Floyd Mayweather. Dana White was on board, everybody was on board.

 

But, you know, Khabib is an MMA fighter. If Floyd wanted to come to fight, get his little ass whooped, no problem.

 

Crossover fights have become extremely popular in recent years, with Mayweather taking on Khabib's UFC rival Conor McGregor in a boxing clash in 2017.

 

The American, nicknamed the 'Money', knocked McGregor down in the tenth round and reportedly earned $300m from the clash, while the UFC fighter earned $100m.

 

Mayweather also took on YouTuber turned boxer Logan Paul in an exhibition clash in June and failed to knock the American streaming star out.

 

The Mayweather and Paul clash failed to impress Khabib, who claimed the only motivation for the two fighters coming together was 'money' and 'purely business'.

 

Speaking about the fight, Khabib told Russian media in June. What's there to say? They came out, made money. It's purely business.

 

There was no competitive aspect to it, old Mayweather came out, they sparred and made money, what else is there to say?