Usman Nurmagomedov Unmoved by UFC Legend Daniel Cormier Ranking Him Above Khabib and Others

Having trained alongside the Team Khabib at AKA, former champ Daniel Cormier holds Usman Nurmagomedov in high esteem. So much so that he’s ranked the Bellator champion above his legendary cousin, Khabib. But as Nurmagomedovs go, Usman sure is tickled by the praise but remains unmoved and humble.

In a recent interview with Mike Bohn for MMA Junkie, the Bellator champ spoke about what he thought of Cormier’s rankings,

“It’s nothing to be honest. He said something good about me this is of course make me a little bit happy. But I wanna stay humble.”

Nurmagomedov does not want the praise to get to his head. This is a key aspect of all the Dagestani fighters, humility. No matter what level of success they attain, they are always respectful, to their teammates, coaches and even their opponents in and outside of a ring.

But Usman’s talents are not limited to being humble in win or in loss. He is generally regarded as the most talented of the lot, even garnering praise from the UFC lightweight champion, Islam Makhachev.

Islam sees stardom in Usman’s future

Islam Makhachev has trained alongside Usman Nurmagomedov since they were children. So if anyone has seen him grow, its the champion. The two are super close, so much so that Usman tried entering the octagon at UFC 302 after Islam defended his lightweight title for the third time, against Dustin Poirier, and was thrown out by the security.

Islam has also often talked about just how good Usman has always been. In an interview with Henry Cejudo and Kamaru Usman for their podcast Pound 4 Pound, the champ reiterated that Usman was the best talent he had ever seen and needed to be pushed by Khabib everyday.

“Brother, honestly this is biggest talent I have ever seen. But this guy needs somebody who push him everyday. If Khabib push him everyday, he will be superstar.”

 

Islam Makhachev’s thoughts on Usman Nurmagomedov

“Biggest talent but needs someone to push him everyday”

Via: @pound4poundshow pic.twitter.com/SxL2mtE0Dx

— (@MoonVenerable9) May 16, 2024

Islam Makhachev also joked about how Usman had what it takes to be great but sometimes was a little bit lazy. Well, it’s only fair! There has to be some chink in their armors for the lesser mortals need to be competing against the all conquering Dagestanis!