Khabib Nurmagomedov says UFC boss Dana White is ignoring the former champ's texts for the first time in his life

• Khabib Nurmagomedov desperately wants to talk to UFC boss Dana White.
• The former champ wants his fighter Islam Makhachev to fight for the lightweight title.

LAS VEGAS — UFC boss Dana White is ignoring Khabib Nurmagomedov's text messages for the first time in his life, the former UFC lightweight champion said this week.

Since retiring from MMA fighting with a flawless record of 29-0 with a second-round submission win over Justin Gaethje in 2020, Nurmagomedov has taken on a dual role in combat sports.

He bought MMA promotion Gorilla Fighting Championship for $1 million in 2020, renamed it Eagle Fighting Championship, and is trying to grow the business in the US.

Nurmagomedov also appears to be a natural coach and has been helping fighters like Islam Makhachev, Umar Nurmagomedov, and Usman Nurmagomedov through their own competitions.

One of the 33-year-old's focuses is securing a UFC lightweight championship shot for Makhachev, and he is lobbying White for that opportunity.

"You know what's interesting? He look," Nurmagomedov said during an interview with ESPN's Brett Okamoto this week. "You know when you send someone a message, you can understand, he watch, he watch. He didn't respond."

Nurmagomedov wanted to talk to White about two opportunities — one for Makhachev, and another regarding The Ultimate Fighter, where he'd build a team to coach against a team coached by his old lightweight rival Tony Ferguson.

"I thought, 'I don't want to give him pressure,' but … 'Dana, we have to finish two business — Islam Makhachev, and Ultimate Fighter,'" he said.

"Please call me back, brother, because if you don't call me back, I'm going to be in Vegas [in] June. Then you'll have to send me message like your location, you know. Be careful, Dana, we have to finish our business, brother, call me back."

—ESPN MMA (@espnmma) May 19, 2022

Makhachev is the No. 4 fighter at 155 pounds, behind Gaethje, Dustin Poirier, and Charles Oliveira.

The championship is currently vacant after Oliveira, the former titleholder, entered a recent event slightly overweight.

The May 7 match against Gaethje went ahead but under the proviso that only the American could leave the arena with the belt if he won the fight. Brazilian fighter Oliveira won, but as he missed weight, was unable to retain the title.

For Nurmagomedov, Makhachev deserves the next title shot moreso than Gaethje or Poirier, potentially fighting Oliveira for the vacant belt. However, he claims he cannot get a hold of White.

"This is first time since we started talking to each other that he don't respond to me," Nurmagomedov said.