UFC legend Khabib Nurmagomedov is going to have his work cut out for him on January 18.
While ‘The Eagle’ no longer competes inside the Octagon, fight fans can regularly find him cornering the likes of reigning lightweight world champion Islam Makhachev and his cousin, Umar Nurmagomedov, both of whom will be competing on the same night when the UFC returns to pay-per-view in 2025.
Emanating from the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles, the main event of the evening will see Makhachev put his 155-pound crown on the line against the division’s top-ranked contender, Arman Tsarukyan.
Just before Makhachev enters the cage for his fourth lightweight title defense, Umar Nurmagomedov will challenge bantamweight titleholder Merab Dvalishvili in the co-main event. It will be the Georgian’s first time defending the 135-pound belt since claiming it via a dominant decision win over ‘Sugar’ Sean O’Malley in September.
During a recent interview with The Schmo, longtime Khabib Nurmagomedov coach and American Kickboxing Academy founder Javier Mendez expects it to be a mentally draining weekend for ‘The Eagle’ as he looks to lead both his fighters to the biggest wins of their respective careers.
“It’s going to be really busy for him mentally because he has to deal with, you know, two of his brothers that he loves to death—one is his cousin, and one is Islam, who he’s been training with since childhood,” Mendez said. “So for him, it’s going to be a ball of nerves.
“For me, it’s not that bad at all because I’m used to it now. I can go right through it—no problem. He’s going to be a wreck, though.”
Mendez says everything is ‘on point’ ahead of makhachev and nurmagomedov’s big night
Offering some insight into Makhachev and Nurmagomedov’s training ahead of UFC 311, Mendez added:
“But things are great, things are fantastic. The training is fantastic. We’re on point, we’re on point. We have three more weeks of hard training, and then we’re off to Los Angeles. We’ll see what happens.”
While Makhachev is already acquainted with the bright lights of a five-round title fight, it will be an unfamiliar feeling for Umar Nurmagomedov. The undefeated star secured his first shot at UFC gold with an impressive showing against Cory Sandhagen over the summer. The win jumped him all the way up to the No. 2 spot in the rankings, setting the stage for his showdown with ‘The Machine.’
Combined, Makhachev and Nurmagomedov have won their last 32 fights.
