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Khabib Nurmagomedov’s manager, Ali Abdelaziz told ESPN that his client’s father is seemingly recovering following his recent hospitalization.
Khabib Nurmagomedov’s father and longtime mentor, Abdulmanap, is reportedly ‘progressing’ after being hospitalized with COVID-19 related complications.
According to Khabib’s manager, Ali Abdelaziz, Abdulmanap recently opened his eyes and even spoke to Khabib during a recent encounter.
“Khabib is very strong, his family is very strong and his father is very strong,” Abdelaziz told ESPN. “He’s improving. He opened his eyes, responding a little bit — good sign. Allah is in control. We have faith he will be better, but at the end of the day, it’s completely up to his health whether it progresses or not. But he’s progressing, and we’re very happy about this.”
Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov, 57, was transported from his native Dagestan to a military hospital in Moscow in April after falling ill with pneumonia and flu-like symptoms, which was later confirmed to be COVID-19. As his condition worsened, the renowned coach suffered a stroke and underwent surgery before being placed in a medically induced coma. And despite waking from the coma a week later, he was reportedly unable to speak and remained in critical condition.
He was then once again placed in a medically induced coma after his condition worsened significantly. Yet despite the ongoing situation, Abdelaziz claims that Khabib has been motivated to continue his training for his next bout.
“I think Khabib’s father being sick has motivated him more,” Abdelaziz said. “He’s training every day, two times a day. He’s in camp already. Me and him were talking and I said, ‘Hey, get your mind off, do what you need to do.’ He’s always training. He’s a true mixed martial artist. Same with Gaethje. They are both great guys and they want to fight. It’s a dream fight.”