Is Khabib Nurmagomedov going to be in Islam Makhachev's corner?
By Anwesha Nag
Dagestan's pride Islam Makhachev is set to defend his lightweight belt against short-notice opponent Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 294. The mega-event with a stacked card will take place on Saturday, Oct. 24 in Abu Dhabi, UAE. Makhachev was originally supposed to face Charles Oliveira, who had to pull out after suffering a nasty cut above his eye during training.
As of now, Khabib Nurmagomedov will not be in Makhachev's corner for the fight.
In January 2023, his close friend, teammate, and mentor, Khabib Nurmagomedov, quit traveling as a coach right before Makhachev's first title defense against Volkanovski. He shared a picture with his team on Instagram, hinting that he was slowing down.
He also shared a post that said he was leaving the MMA industry to spend more time with his family, therefore confirming the speculation. It was later explained that he would still be training and coaching but would not be attending fights on the road.
In the first week of October, Makhachev announced on social media that Nurmagomedov had joined the training camp as the 'head coach'.
Fans naturally assumed that the former UFC lightweight champion has changed his mind about coaching and will be seen once again in his protege's corner in Abu Dhabi. However, Makhachev confirmed that Nurmagomedov would only be there for a brief period of training and not be in his corner at UFC 294.
"He's not going to be my corner of course, but he will be here to help," Makhachev told ESPN MMA. "I don't know fight day where he's going to be, but next two weeks, he's gonna be here."
Coaching opportunity eludes Khabib Nurmagomedov's bitter rival Conor McGregor
Nurmagomedov's longtime UFC foe Conor McGregor also passed up a coaching opportunity recently. Despite initially stating that he would help Dillon Danis prepare for the Logan Paul fight, McGregor ended up not training with him.
Speaking with All Out Fighting prior to the Misfits Boxing event, McGregor said, "You know, he had the baby. We didn't get to train together. So don't know the ins and outs. I know he's doing well." He also predicted a win for Danis, which did not age well. Danis lost the fight to Paul via disqualification.
Danis also confirmed on Twitter that he had no coach for the fight.
Khabib Nurmagomedov family tree. dark. Next. Khabib Nurmagomedov family tree