Khabib Nurmagomedov may have played out entirely differently if his legendary father and coach, Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov, had not passed away back in 2020. Abdulmanap had fallen gravely ill and succumbed to the symptoms after a tough battle with COVID-19.
Just days after his passing, Khabib, who then held the lightweight belt, revealed his promise to his mother about the UFC 254 title defense against Justin Gaethje in October of that year being his swan song.
After putting Gaethje to sleep with a triangle, Khabib broke down in the middle of the octagon and bid his farewell in front of an empty arena. And even though he has been constantly linked with a return to combat sports, Khabib, who bowed out boasting a 29-0 record, has since switched to coaching himself.
Guiding close friend Islam Makhachev to a lightweight title win of his own back in 2022, he has since led the line with Javier Mendez at American Kickboxing Academy, trying to fill in the gigantic shoes he father left behind.
“Khabib is playing his dad’s role now. It’s a role of respect and honor,” Cejudo said on the Pound-4-Pound podcast.
“We even talked to Ali (Abdelaziz), and he was like, ‘Hey, if Khabib’s dad was still alive, that motherf*cker wouldn’t be retired. 100%, he’s gonna do what his dad says.‘”, added Cejudo.
Khabib Nurmagomedov Has Taken His Father’s Role, Says Henry Cejudo
“Khabib is playing his dad’s role now. It’s a role of respect and honor. We even talked to Ali, and he was like, ‘Hey, if Khabib’s dad was still alive, that mf wouldn’t be retired. 100%, he’s gonna do what… pic.twitter.com/BvoMViZlvm
— Red Corner MMA (@RedCorner_MMA) April 3, 2025
“The Dagestani camp has the same level of respect for Khabib because he’s now playing the role that his father had for everyone else“, Triple C said.
“And Islam pretty much follows what Khabib is going to do. It’s not like he [Khabib] is the commander-in-chief, but he [Khabib] is his [Islam’s] brother. They represent something just different…” Cejudo tried to explain the familial dynamics between the two champions.
Abdulmanap, of course, had taken in Islam after the lightweight champion had won a local tournament and trained him to become a UFC champion. But with Khabib being his son, the dynamic between the pair were always going to be different.
Khabib’s relationship with Abdulmanap
Emotionally reflecting on his loyal relationship with his father, Nurmagomedov has described him as his “real friend” in the years following his tragic passing.
“Our culture was like, it’s very hard to hear from father,” Khabib said during an interview with Patrick Bet-David last year.
But he admits Abdumanap never had to say it for him to know.
“I realized my father is my real friend,” He added.
“When I was like 15, 16. Before that, I was thinking, why is he pushing me too much? Too much training, these racing, these bears, animals, doing all this stuff”, he elaborated on his frustrations as a young teenager competing in multiple disciplines like freestyle wrestling and combat sambo and even in Judo.
But he understood his father’s reasons soon enough.
” When I become like 15, 16, I become like very close with father”, Khabib said.
