We know Dana White is persistent, especially when it comes to keeping his best fighters.

Sadly, even he seems to have finally thrown in the towel regarding the return to the octagon for perfect 29-0 record Khabib Nurmagomedov.

The Russian unexpectedly retired from the sport at age 32, mere moments after choking out Justin Gaethje on Fight Island.

What made the retirement even more shocking was the timing. Khabib was seemingly at the peak of his powers, unbeaten in all 29 fights, and coming off 3 knockout victories in a row against 3 of the best in his division; Conor McGregor, Dustin Poirier and most recent Justin Gaethje.

He revealed in the emotional post fight interview his reasons for the retirement, stating that following the passing of his father, Abdulmanap in the summer of 2020, he promised his mother that the Gaethje fight would be his last then he would retire.

Since that fateful night, Nurmagomedov has followed the path of his late father and went into coaching younger fighters from his home of Dagestan, including fighters such as Islam Makhachev and Zubaira Tukhugov.

Another storyline during this time has been White's attempts to bring the Russian back into the octagon, but the current president of the UFC has finally ‘abandoned all hope’ of a return from Khabib.

“I’ve abandoned all hope, so you should too," White told TMZ Sports.

“He’s done. Believe me, I threw the kitchen sink at this kid. I tried to get him to stick around but I think he’s done.

“He’s sliding into this coaches role, he went undefeated in his career and retired undefeated, and now he’s undefeated as a coach, too.

“The guy has had nothing but success, he continues to be successful, and he’s moving on to that next chapter of his life. I think Khabib is done.”

Khabib has since revealed why he didn’t accept the £100 million offer to fight legendary 50-0 boxer Floyd Mayweather. Talking on Mike Tyson’s Hotboxin’ podcast, Khabib said he “did not fight for money” and would not be tempted to return by lucrative offers.

Whatever the reasons for his retirement, whether it be the loss for the love of the sport, a desire to continue his father’s coaching legacy or another reason we may well never know, few can begrudge the most dominant lightweight in the world for a much needed and well-deserved break.