Khabib Nurmagomedov almost single-handedly changed the history of the UFC Lightweight division. While the division was respected for having some hard fighters, nobody came from the division and entered the GOAT talk. Khabib strolled into that conversation with his dominance of all opponents in the last few years.

Khabib has become one of the biggest stars in MMA. However, he has achieved that under the careful promotion and booking of Dana White. The first meeting any fighter has with Dana is usually a very auspicious moment. That moment between Khabib and Dana has been circulating as a clip on Twitter. White seemed very impressed with Khabib

“Unbelievable. This kid is impressive. Tough. A tough, tough, tough kid here.”

Even though White seemed cagey, the fact that Khabib became the star that he did makes it feel a lot more haunting. While he may never return to the Octagon again, he seems to have more than paid his dues to Dana White.

Khabib Nurmagomedov: From his debut to UFC 254

The clip of White and Khabib Nurmagomedov meeting is from UFC 165. That means Khabib had five UFC fights before he got a chance to meet Dana. As his record still reflects, Khabib was undefeated then and coming off a lot of hype. He beat Pat Healy at UFC 165.

Khabib debuted in the UFC in 2012 but wasn’t a very active fighter, as injuries kept him sidelined quite often. However, he did ultimately ascend to the championship level, becoming the Lightweight champion in 2018. He defended his belt against Conor McGregor, Justin Gaethje, and Dustin Poirier.

READ MORE: Khabib Nurmagomedov Reveals the Biggest Learning He Has Taken From His Late Father

However, it is now time to bid adieu to the Dagestani. Khabib has announced his intentions to retire. With Conor losing convincingly to Dustin Poirier, it seems there isn’t anything to lure Khabib back into the cage. Either way, the clip shows a different time when Khabib looked just happy to be there.

How times change.