It’s exactly what UFC fans have been afraid of for months and it’s finally been confirmed... Khabib Nurmagomedov has officially retired from UFC.

The Eagle is reported to have gone for a crunch dinner meeting with UFC chief Dana White on Thursday night. The latter then subsequently confirmed Khabib’s decision in a tweet sent out in the early hours of Friday morning.

“29-0 it is,” was probably the last thing White wanted to announce, but the chief’s words seemed supportive of the Russian’s decision.

White posted a selfie of the two at their dinner accompanied by the following emotional statement: "He is officially retired. It was incredible to watch you work @TeamKhabib thank you for EVERYTHING and enjoy whatever is next my friend."

Khabib was quick to issue his own social media announcement, with the champion fighter taking to Instagram to express his appreciation to White and the wider UFC organisation.

Khabib described their Thursday night meeting as “a good dinner with some great people” and “a real conversation between real men.”

The undefeated fighter thanked White and the UFC for giving him an opportunity in the sport and paid personal tribute to White by saying: “Dana - I’ll never forget your attitude towards me, my father did not forget, and my sons will remember you.”

The legendary fighter originally announced his intention to quit during an emotional retirement speech after his recent win over Justin Gaethje, but this didn’t stop many people from claiming Khabib would re-enter the Octagon to fight Conor McGregor.

While we will never know exactly what was said in the meeting, we can be sure that White tried to convince ‘the pride of Dagestan’ to fight on.

Talking to ESPN recently, White is quoted to have said: “I’m obviously meeting with him because I think that he should fight again. Look at what he did to Justin Gaethje [in October]. Look at what he's done to every opponent he has faced. I think he should fight again and I'm going to press him as hard as I can for one more.”

‘The Eagle’ can certainly be proud of his achievements in the sport. He has had a strong grip on the UFC lightweight championship since April 2018, making him the longest-reigning champion in that category.

Famous for his signature ‘grappling’ style, Khabib is ranked #1 in the UFC men's pound-for-pound rankings and Fight Matrix ranks him as the #1 lightweight of all time.

He retires with an impressive 29-0 undefeated record and can be assured of a place in UFC history.