Khabib Nurmagomedov will be part of the trio that makes up Islam Makhachev’s corner for his first title fight at UFC 280. ‘The Eagle’ is a close friend and training partner of Makhachev and will hope to play whatever role he can in helping his friend attain UFC gold.
Khabib has been uncharictaristically vocal leading into UFC 280, especially considering the little amount of trash talk he engaged in during his own career inside the octagon.
Recently, ‘The Eagle’ tweeted that he didn’t believe Charles Oliveira would show up to Abu Dhabi. He’s also since predicted that Islam Makhachev will “roll over” the Brazilian en route to the lightweight strap.
Now, Khabib’s longtime AKA teammate Daniel Cormier has explained the Dagestani’s comments. During a recent episode of 3 Rounds with DC, the former champ-champ insisted that ‘The Eagle’ acknowledges the danger that ‘Do Bronx’ poses:
“You expect your guy to look like a world beater every time, especially whenever he’s fighting for his first UFC championship. But you’ve also got to be very cognizant of what’s in front of you, and I think that is where Khabib is saying, ‘I understand the dangers.’ So they’re speding more time working on those areas where they feel there is danger.”
Watch the video below:
Khabib Nurmagomedov on who is father’s favorite student was
Khabib Nurmagomedov’s late father, Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov, was an instrumental part of his son’s successful MMA career. During Khabib’s childhood, him and close friend Islam Makhachev were guided by Abdulmanap.
The late Nurmagomedov remained an integral member of the team, even after his pupils began training at the well-established American Kickboxing Academy under the tutelage of Javier Mendez. Despite the success and dominance of ‘The Eagle’, Makhachev has long been named one of Abdulmanap’s favorite students.
During an interview with UFC Russia in the buildup to UFC 280, Khabib Nurmagomedov spoke about his father’s mindset towards Makhachev:
“He was definitely in the top 3. There were guys such as I, I saw a lot of guys come and go in a span of 20 years. We changed gyms, but the base was always the same. Islam was 100% top 3, My father truly believed in him.”
Watch the interview below:
Khabib Nurmagomedov will be part of the team that will corner Islam Makhachev during his first shot at UFC gold. ‘The Eagle’ will hope that his childhood friend can follow in his footsteps and be crowned UFC lightweight champion.
