Khabib Nurmagomedov is one of the greatest MMA fighters of all time. Since hanging up the gloves, he has become a well respected trainer and coach, and two of his students are fighting this weekend at UFC 311. Islam Makhachev defends his lightweight title against Arman Tsarukyan and Khabib’s cousin, Umar Nurmagomedov, attempts to win the bantamweight crown against Merab Dvalishvili in the co-main event.
Khabib said he was originally planning on spending time with his family and children over the New Year period however with Islam Makhachev defending his lightweight title this weekend at UFC 311, ‘The Eagle’ had a training camp to organize, so he has based himself in America. Umar Nurmagomedov is also competing in the co-main event at 311 as he tries to dethrone the bantamweight champion, Merab Dvalishvili, so it’s fair to say Khabib had his work cut out as we approached and entered 2025.
Khabib’s transition into coaching
After Khabib defeated Justin Gaethje at UFC 254 back in 2020, he announced his retirement during his post-fight interview, much to the surprise of the MMA community. His father and trainer, Abdulmanap, had recently passed, and Given Khabib’s unblemished 29-0 record, many expected him to aim for an even 30-0 before retiring. bKhabib struggled to find the motivation to continue fighting without his father in his corner, and with his mother expressing a preference for her son to hang up the gloves, he fulfilled her wishes.
In an interview with ESPN, Brett Okamato asked a very poignant question: ‘Did you know that you were going to take on this responsibility (be in charge of training camps) when you retired, that this was the life waiting for you? Or did you feel like you were going to leave the sport more than you have?
Khabib said that although he expected to become a coach and mentor, he didn’t expect it to be as time-consuming and difficult as it has been. As a fighter, he was in control of more variables; once the cage door closed, it was just him and his opponent. Now, he has to oversee a lot more, and said it was completely different from his fighting life. Despite all of that, he couldn’t remain in Dagestan while his fighters were preparing in America. After learning to fight from his father, Khabib moved to America in 2012 and credits Javier Mendez of the American Kickboxing Academy (AKA) with developing his knowledge further. Considering both the lessons that Mendez and his father gave him and the knowledge he acquired by being in both of their presence, Khabib felt as though he needed to be in the United States with his fighters, his ‘brothers,’ to share the things he had learned.
Fighting Vs. Coaching: Comparison
Interestingly, Khabib fought Dustin Poirier in a title fight at UFC 242, and in June last year, Khabib faced off against ‘The Diamond’ once again; however, this time, he was there as a coach. Okamoto asked about the differences between both scenarios, and ‘The Eagle’ said it was harder being a coach, comments which would come as a surprise to us mere mortals who do not fight for a living:
”Inside [the cage] is much better. When I was inside, I don’t have to talk. Only a couple of times inside the cage, I talk with Dustin [Poirier.] Outside, when I was with Islam for 25 minutes, I was just talking. I cannot do nothing, and I do not like this, to be honest, but it was an amazing fight for the fans” – said Khabib.
The interview with Khabib Nurmagomedov and Brett Okamoto was wide-ranging and provided a great insight into the mind of one of the greatest to ever step foot inside the UFC octagon. The the full interview is available above.
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