Khabib Nurmagomedov seems to be enjoying life post-retirement through his new coaching roles.
Two of Khabib’s proteges were in back-to-back fights during the UFC 272 preliminaries, the importance of these fights was shown through his reactions in their corners.
The “Eagle” was shown in a furious way while cage side for Ulanbekov in his flyweight debut against Tim Elliot.
never seen khabib nurmagomedov this mad
#UFC272 pic.twitter.com/JpKzIlZD3a
— wise (@wiseguyMMA) March 6, 2022
The fighter from Russia lost via unanimous decision, although the reason behind the former lightweight champion’s angered state was from Elliott continuously grabbing Ulanbekov’s gloves.
But in the next fight of the night Khabib Nurmagomedov was cornering his cousin Umar Numagomedov.
This fight saw Umar defeat Brian Kelleher at featherweight in the first round via rear-naked choke.
Khabib was seen cheering on his cousin while Umar secured his second UFC victory.
— UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) March 6, 2022
Coach Khabib brought to his feet after that performance from
Is Umar Nurmagomedov the heir to Khabib?
After a slow start to his UFC career through three canceled debuts one because of the death of his uncle Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov and the second due to a staph infection leaving him hospitalised.
The fighter from Dagestan made his debut in January 2021 against Sergey Morozov where he won in the second round through a Rear-Naked Choke, this would lead to Umar also winning the ‘performance of the night bonus’
Now with the bantamweight fighters’ second Rear-Naked Choke victory in a row at UFC 272, it seems like the sky’s the limit.
Umar has been backed by former double champion Henry Cejudo to take over the 135lb division and become a global star like Khabib.