Khabib Nurmagomedov built his unmatched MMA reputation in the UFC. His lightweight division stranglehold, which saw him notch up a 29-0 record during his career, solidified him as an all-time great in Dana White’s promotion. But that doesn’t mean that Khabib’s loyalty lies solely with White and the UFC brass.
Since retiring in 2020, Khabib has remained connected to the UFC. That is through the coaching role he has taken up for the likes of Islam Makhachev and Belal Muhammad. He has also kept the UFC in the family, coaching his cousins, Umar and Abubakar, during their time in White’s promotion.
However, Khabib has also been keen to ‘spread his wings’ since his in-ring retirement. After retirement, he purchased the failing Gorilla World Championship and renamed it the Eagle Fighting Championship. The promotion has held most of its events in Russia and provided a platform for up-and-coming fighters from Russia and Central Asia.
His coaching has also expanded to other promotions, finding success with athletes in ONE and Bellator.
One fighter, with whom Khabib shares a special bond, has built quite the reputation in one of Dana White’s rival promotions. The fighter holds an incredible record of 23-0. That is not too far off the unbeaten record Khabib himself retired on. The fighter’s domination prompted Khabib to mention the fighter in a recent story on Instagram.
“Another final. Only forward,” wrote Khabib to his near-40 million Instagram followers. The message was displayed over an image of PFL featherweight Movlid Khaybulaev, his arms raised in victory.
The image was taken from last night’s PFL 5. Khaybulaev picked up his 23rd career victory over Kim Tae-kyun in the semi-final of the PFL Featherweight Tournament. Having won the tournament in 2021, Khaybulaev will be looking to become just the second PFL fighter to win the tournament twice in the promotion’s history.
Khaybulaev remains under contract at PFL. But if he keeps up his phenomenal unbeaten record and continues to draw appreciation from the likes of Khabib, MMA fans can expect Dana White to start sniffing around sooner or later.
Khabib Nurmagomedov and Movlid Khaybulaev: what’s the connection?
While Khabib’s appreciation of Khaybulaev’s victory is newsworthy, it isn’t a surprise to those in the know.
Khabib has coached a lot of Dagestan fighters, but Khaybulaev isn’t one of them. However, the two fighters have trained together during the course of each other’s careers. The PFL fighter also credits Khabib’s late father, Abdulmanap, as the inspiration to become a professional mixed martial artist.
Training under Abdulmanap before his death in 2020, Khaybulaev was a primary training partner for Khabib during the preparation for some of his most important fights. As a result, the two fighters share a strong bond, with Khabib following Khaybulaev’s progress more closely since retiring.
Like he does for many other Dagestan and Central Asian fighters, Khabib Nurmagomedov remains a mentor and a source of wisdom for Khaybulaev, carrying on the work of his father before him.
