While Khabib won’t be in Islam’s corner, he’ll spend two weeks training Makhachev to beat Oliveira at UFC 294 in Abu Dhabi.
Khabib Nurmagomedov has followed through on his vow to leave the mixed martial arts (MMA) world completely at the start of 2023. But, he’s making an exception for his good friend and former training partner, Islam Makhachev, leading up to UFC 294.
Makhachev faces Charles Oliveira in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, on Oct. 21, 2023. One year ago, the dominant Dagestani took the Lightweight title off “Do Bronx” in the same venue, with Nurmagomedov in his corner. It’s unclear whether “The Eagle” will be with Makhachev in the Middle East this time, but he’s preparing his pupil for “Do Bronx.”
“He will come tomorrow, train with us in the camp,” Makhachev said in a new interview with ESPN. “He’s not going to be my corner coach, but he will be here to help … we come here, like 40 guys, the whole team. I don’t know fight day where he’s gonna be, but next two weeks, he’s going to be here.”
Usman Nurmagomedov has described having Khabib as your coach like, “having a mountain behind you,” and while that sounds reassuring, it also means he’s going to make you work like you’ve never worked before.
“I miss the time when we were training together, when he had fight, when I had fight,” Islam said. “But, when he become coach like two years, one year ago, he pressure us very hard, you know? We did drills, almost 10 rounds sparring. And after all this work, after 1.5 half hours, he says, ‘Okay, now five rounds grappling.’
“We never did this when we train together!” Makhachev continued. “Now that he become coach, he think he’s not tired because he corner everyone in the cage, and after the sparring he goes, ‘Let’s grapple now,’ and he change the clothes and grapples with us five rounds more. Then we did push-ups, planks, many things.”
“I don’t know what’s coming tomorrow, but everyone is excited.
“He’s going to watch the whole sparring and he’s gonna train with us,” Makhachev finished. “He likes to train, likes to do some grappling. He’s training every day.”
The bookies already liked Makhachev’s chances in the Oliveira rematch, and that was before Khabib committed to supporting him in the final weeks of his camp. Makhachev is currently a -340 favorite to beat the +270 Oliveira. Back in 2022, Makhachev finished Oliveira via arm-triangle choke halfway through the second round (watch highlights).
To see the rest of the UFC 294 fight card and PPV lineup click here.