Khabib Nurmagomedov

Khamzat Chimaev Compares his Title Journey to Khabib Nurmagomedov: “It took him forever to get a title shot.”

Khamzat Chimaev and Khabib Nurmagomedov Khamzat Chimaev compares his journey to UFC gold to that of all-time great Khabib Nurmagomedov. Ahead of UFC 308,…

Khamzat Chimaev compares his journey to UFC gold to that of all-time great Khabib Nurmagomedov. Ahead of UFC 308, ‘Borz’ shared his insights into his upcoming bout against former champion Robert Whittaker and his world championship plans.

Khamzat Chimaev and Khabib Nurmagomedov

‘The Eagle’ Khabib Nurmagomedov retired at a perfect 29-0 and was renowned for his dominance in the cage. In the UFC, the lightweight king had notable wins over fighters such as Rafael dos Anjos, Conor McGregor, Dustin Poirier, and Justin Gaethje, among others. Additionally, Nurmagomedov trained multiple titleholders including Islam Makhachev, Belal Muhammad, and Usman Nurmagomedov.

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The Dagestani Khabib Nurmagomedov made his UFC debut in 2012 but was unable to earn a title shot until 2018. The undefeated Khamzat Chimaev sees similarities from the Dagestani champion to his road to the title. ‘Borz’ made a huge impact in the UFC when he made his debut, quickly winning matches by KO/TKO. Later on, he struggled with various illnesses and weight issues that kept him inactive. But, with a win at UFC 308 against Robert Whittaker, Chimaev will likely earn a shot at the middleweight throne.

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In an interview with Daniel Cormier, Khamzat Chimaev explained:

“Yeah, like with Khabib — it took him forever to get a title shot. But I don’t mind; when I get the belt, people will call me the champ.”

The UFC middleweight championship is currently held by South Africa’s Dricus Du Plessis. The division also has the former titleholder Sean Strickland hoping for another shot at gold. Khamzat Chimaev will need an impressive performance in Abu Dhabi to jump the line. On earning a title shot in this UFC 308 bout, Chimaev said:

“It should, but we’ll see.”

On his recent training, the middleweight fighter added:

“I go back sometimes to work with the coaches, but mostly I’m training where there are fewer people, so I can focus on my gym, my team, and my training. Yeah, they have good movements. But wrestling against the wall is tough for them. I like challenging myself, though—it makes me a better fighter.”

Conor McGregor: “I’ll Support You 100%” in Paul Hughes Bout Against Usman Nurmagomedov, takes shots at Khabib

Ireland’s Paul Hughes will soon face the Khabib Nurmagomedov trained Usman Nurmagomedov, for the Bellator title, and wants Conor…

Ireland’s Paul Hughes will soon face the Khabib Nurmagomedov trained Usman Nurmagomedov, for the Bellator title, and wants Conor McGregor in his corner for this matchup. ‘The Notorious’ said he is absolutely into supporting Hughes for his title match against the Dagestani athlete.

Paul Hughes

The Cage Warriors champion signed with the PFL earlier this year. In his promotional debut, he out-pointed the prodigy AJ McKee over a three-round decision. With this win in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, he sets himself up as the top contender to face Usman Nurmagomedov for the Bellator Lightweight Title.

Usman is a cousin of Khabib Nurmagomedov and has long been a training partner. Khabib would be in Usman’s corner during the Hughes title match. Thus, Hughes has asked his Irish countryman and rival of Khabib, Conor McGregor to be in his corner. In his post-fight interview, the Irish fighter said:

“Yeah, that’s obvious. [Usman Nurmagomedov] is what I want. I said I was here for the biggest fights, the highest-pressure moments, and to make the most money possible. Usman is next, no question. There’s a lot of hype around this fight, and I’m here for it … How crazy would that be? We might need some extra security that night, though. We’ll need more security! But I’m down for it. It’ll be fun.”

Conor McGregor

Conor McGregor changed the face of MMA when he made history as a two-division UFC Champion. But he might be best known for his blockbuster match against his rival Khabib Nurmagomedov. Hearing the calls from Paul Hughes, McGregor said that he would be in attendance to support Hughes against Nurmagomedov. In a deleted Tweet, ‘The Notorious’ said:

“Paul my man I will go to the arena and support 100% for sure and if it kicks off I’ll be in there before you could even say ‘The [Nurmagomedovs] are juice head inbred rats married to their cousins’. Your team and corner have done a tremendous job with you! They will take you all the way! You’ve got this! We are with you brother, bring home the Gold!”

Conor McGregor Khabib Usman Paul Hughes — Screenshot by Curtis Calhoun

Conor McGregor: “I’ll Support You 100%” in Paul Hughes Bout Against Usman Nurmagomedov, takes shots at Khabib

Ireland’s Paul Hughes will soon face the Khabib Nurmagomedov trained Usman Nurmagomedov, for the Bellator title, and wants Conor…

Paul Hughes

“Yeah, that’s obvious. [Usman Nurmagomedov] is what I want. I said I was here for the biggest fights, the highest-pressure moments, and to make the most money possible. Usman is next, no question. There’s a lot of hype around this fight, and I’m here for it … How crazy would that be? We might need some extra security that night, though. We’ll need more security! But I’m down for it. It’ll be fun.”

Conor McGregor

“Paul my man I will go to the arena and support 100% for sure and if it kicks off I’ll be in there before you could even say ‘The [Nurmagomedovs] are juice head inbred rats married to their cousins’. Your team and corner have done a tremendous job with you! They will take you all the way! You’ve got this! We are with you brother, bring home the Gold!”

Former UFC Champion Names MMA Mount Rushmore With No Conor McGregor, Khabib Or Jon Jones

There’s always going to be talk of who the greatest MMA fighters of all time are but this year more than most, it has been a particularly relevant conversation. Whether it’s due to the discourse surrounding Jon Jones and the pound-for-pound rankings or the retirement of Demetrious Johnson, it’s been a consistent topic in recent […]

Continue Reading Former UFC Champion Names MMA Mount Rushmore With No Conor McGregor, Khabib Or Jon Jones at MMA News.

One of the latest fighters to weigh in with his own take on the discussion is the former UFC featherweight champion, Max Holloway. “Blessed” not only comes in with a fairly unique Mount Rushmore list but explains why they all deserve their spots.

In an interview with Stake ahead of his huge main event clash with Ilia Topuria at UFC 308, Holloway left out some big names but justified why that is the case.

“I would say Demetrious (Johnson) is definitely up there, Anderson Silva is there too, GSP and then you have to give it to Forrest Griffin because he helped put the UFC on the map. That TUF Finale on Spike TV was huge for the UFC, so those are my guys for sure. Those four guys are absolute animals.”

Holloway went on to talk about how, in his opinion, Johnson does not get the respect that he deserves just because he reigned supreme in the smallest of the men’s weight classes.

“When you talk about Demetrious Johnson, it seems insane to me how he is viewed just because he fought at 125 lbs. This 125-er would absolutely whoop your ass. A lot of bigger guys think they can hang with him, you get these influencers and social media personalities who go around screaming, ‘I’m 260 bro, he’s 125lbs. Brother, Demetrious Johnson would take your ACL and your arm home and then he would come back and cut your head off if he wanted to. You could do nothing about it, he’s such a beast.”

The BMF titleholder added that he has a lot of respect for the greatest welterweight and middleweight of all time, both of which made his list.

“I wish I was fighting during the time that GSP was around, I would have loved to have shared the Octagon with him. He’s one of the greats, as was Anderson Silva – he was such a beast.”

Holloway signed off by explaining the reasoning behind his picks, detailing his own specific criteria and why that eliminates his long time rival, Daniel Cormier.

“Some people might disagree with my Mount Rushmore, but I’m looking at the way these fighters carried themselves inside and outside of the Octagon, how they were ambassadors for the sport and for the company as well. ‘DC’ is probably going to be mad that he’s not on my Mount Rushmore of MMA, but I don’t like the way he carries himself out of the UFC. He thinks he’s the ‘Daddest Man on the Planet’, he is delusional.”

Continue Reading Former UFC Champion Names MMA Mount Rushmore With No Conor McGregor, Khabib Or Jon Jones at MMA News.

Khabib Nurmagomedov Wants to Train 17-year-old Muay Thai Prodigy ‘Jojo’ for MMA

UFC legend Khabib Nurmagomedov is looking to train the 17-year-old ‘Jojo’ Johan Ghazali for a potential future debut in…

UFC legend Khabib Nurmagomedov is looking to train the 17-year-old ‘Jojo’ Johan Ghazali for a potential future debut in MMA. Right now, ‘Jojo’ is a prodigy of Muay Thai.

Johan Ghazali

At just 17 years of age, Johan Ghazali is a rising star in the world of Muay Thai. Both of his parents trained in Muay Thai and he began training when he was just 10 years old, merely seven years ago. The Malaysian-American fighter has impressed Muay Thai fans with his 16-second knockout against Padetsuk Fairtex. Thus far in ONE Championship, he has put together a record of 6-1 having won most of these matchups by KO/TKO.

Dagestan’s Khabib Nurmagomedov is widely regarded as one of the greatest mixed martial artists of all time due to his run in the UFC’s lightweight division. His dominant wins made him an international star. After retiring with an unbeaten record, vacating his world title, ‘The Eagle’ took to training future champions.

One of his most successful students is the current UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev. Plus, Bellator MMA champion Usman Nurmagomedov and the top-ranked Umar Nurmagomedov.

Khabib Nurmagomedov assessed the Muay Thai skills of Johan Ghazali in Malaysia recently and remarked:

“I know he is a good young striker, he told me in the future he wants to move to MMA when he finishes with Muay Thai. He is always welcome to Dagestan and train at our gym. In MMA you need to train in wrestling, and he will improve that by training with us.”

On potentially opening a gym in Malaysia, the former UFC champion said:

“This is a very good idea. We’re thinking about this. Why not we open a gym here and bring good coaches? It will be good for all Malaysia MMA.”

Khabib Nurmagomedov Reveals Date For Islam Makhachev’s Next UFC Title Defense

Khabib Nurmagomedov has seemingly confirmed when reigning UFC Lightweight Champion Islam Makhachev will return to action. Makhachev has had just one outing in 2024 — a hard-fought submission win over Dustin Poirier at the Newark-held UFC 302 event to record his second defense of the 155-pound title. For the third straight year, the Russian was […]

Continue Reading Khabib Nurmagomedov Reveals Date For Islam Makhachev’s Next UFC Title Defense at MMA News.

Khabib Nurmagomedov has seemingly confirmed when reigning UFC Lightweight Champion Islam Makhachev will return to action.

Makhachev has had just one outing in 2024 — a hard-fought submission win over Dustin Poirier at the Newark-held UFC 302 event to record his second defense of the 155-pound title.

For the third straight year, the Russian was then being lined up to headline the promotion’s annual October pay-per-view in Abu Dhabi. But an injury that required surgery scuppered those plans and ruled Makhachev out for the remainder of 2024.

Talk quickly arose of a possible interim title fight for top contender Arman Tsarukyan. But after UFC CEO Dana White was quick to dismiss that notion and insist plans were coming together for the champ’s return, the next lightweight title fight may have now had its date leaked…

Khabib Leaks January UFC Title Defense For Makhachev

During a recent interview (via Ushatayka), Khabib provided an update on Makhachev’s return after injury stalled plans for a second assignment in 2024.

While he stayed short of confirming a location or opponent, “The Eagle” did reveal that his protégé has accepted a bout offer from the UFC for an event in January 2025, likely UFC 311.

“UFC offered us a fight already, in January. We accepted it,” Nurmagomedov said. “UFC will announce very soon where it will take place and who will be Islam’s opponent. I will not make an announcement myself, but I can say that we are focused on January.”

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Although his name wasn’t mentioned, there’s little doubt about Tsarukyan’s status as next in line for a shot at title glory following his decision win over former champ Charles Oliveira at UFC 300 this past April.

Read More: Ali Abdelaziz Puts Movsar Evloev ‘On The Same Level’ As Khabib, Makhachev, Usman

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