Khabib Nurmagomedov is not sure of his future beyond his lightweight title defence against Justin Gaethje at UFC 254 but revealed Dana White has "something special" lined up.
It has been frequently suggested the undefeated Nurmagomedov could retire from mixed martial arts following the death of his father and coach Abdulmanap in July.
The unbeaten Russian (28-0) has not stepped into the Octagon since submitting Dustin Poirier in September 2019, having withdrawn from a fight against Tony Ferguson at UFC 249 due to travel restrictions amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Gaethje stepped in and won the interim belt to set up his meeting with Nurmagomedov in Abu Dhabi on October 24.
Asked what lies ahead for him after that fight, Nurmagomedov said: "I don't know. For example, I'm going to finish Justin Gaethje inside the cage on October 24. What else? This is a very good question.
"I love competition. I love to compete with the best fighters in the world. That's why I am here. I'm not in the UFC to make money. I have a lot of business projects outside the UFC, I can make money. Good question. Very good question."
He added: "We have a couple options. We're going to think about this after this fight.
"Dana told me after this fight he has something special for me. But I told him, please keep this, after the fight we're going to talk. He said he has very big things after this fight for me. We'll see."
Gaethje hopes to be the first fighter to get the better of Nurmagomedov, who he expects will subsequently take on retired UFC legend Georges St-Pierre before calling time on his career.
"I'm gonna try and beat him into submission, I want him to quit. I want him to know that I am the superior athlete, the superior man, that's the goal of this game," said Gaethje.
"Khabib's gonna go fight GSP after I beat him and then go, so I'll be here. I'll be ready."
