Khabib Nurmagomedov, who is arguably the greatest lightweight fighter of all time, has spoken out on who may be next in line to take his throne.

The Eagle cemented his status as the undisputed UFC lightweight champion after his incredible performance against Justin Gaethje, his 29th career win from 29 fights.

As we all know, following the fight Khabib announced his retirement, and despite the numerous rumours that the Russian will return to the Octagon in the near future, he has had his say on who the next lightweight champion will be.

In a press conference held in Moscow, Khabib said it is one of his previous opponents that may be crowned the next lightweight champion, but not Notorious Conor McGregor.

“I think Dustin Poirier has the best chance," he is quoted as saying by MMA News.

“I feel like he’s at his peak now. Yes, he lost to me, but he had a great run before our fight and claimed a good victory against a top-5 fighter afterwards. So I believe Dustin has a slight edge over the others.”

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Khabib fought and beat Poirier in September 2019, forcing a third-round submission from the American. Poirier has a big few weeks ahead of him as he prepares to take on McGregor in January.

Many have speculated that Khabib could face the winner of the UFC 257 headliner, given the right amount of money is offered to the Russian.

The likes of Tony Ferguson, Charles Oliveira, Dan Hooker and Gaethje are all also vying for the title, but it seems that Poirier is indeed the man that receives The Eagle’s praise and respect ahead of an exciting few weeks for UFC’s lightweight division.