Khabib Nurmagomedov was inspired by the likes of Georges St-Pierre and Cain Velasquez to take up a career in MMA. ‘The Eagle’ is a student of the game and carefully studied former champions and continues to do so even though he is not competing anymore. Coach Javier Mendez recently shared a story about ‘The Eagle’ that shows just how obsessed he is with the sport which explains his success in the UFC.
Coach Mendez posted a video on Instagram of ‘The Eagle’ surrounded by a few teammates including Cain Velasquez as they watched the famous title fight between the former UFC heavyweight champion and Brock Lesnar.
In the video, he went on to state how big the fight was not just in the USA but also in Russia as Lesnar was a huge name and therefore everyone tuned in to watch the fight.
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While sharing the video on his social media, Mendez also shared a story about Khabib and this fight in particular.
Back in 2010 when he had only five professional fights to his name, ‘The Eagle’ had a Nokia phone at the time and couldn’t get expandable memory that would have allowed him to watch UFC fights.
But he was so obsessed with the sport, that he cleared out the memory, so that he could download and rewatch the fight between Lesnar and Velasquez and not just once.
And who can blame him, it was a great fight.
Besides, this incident is just an example of just how dedicated the Dagestani has been to the sport since forever. Even though he has retired from active competition, the 35-year-old is currently in the states helping his teammates prepare for their upcoming bouts alongside Mendez.
Gold rush at the Dagestani camp
Khabib’s aim to bring further gold to the Dagestani camp is already in process. And so far, it seems to have worked wonders.
As a matter of fact, Khabib had also helped develop a plan for Belal Muhammad to defeat Leon Edwards for the welterweight title at UFC 304 in Manchester.
‘The Eagle’ has been described by many as a no nonsense coach who does not leave a single stone unturned. He was also in Islam’s corner when the lightweight champion took on the rampaging Dustin Poirier at UFC 302.
He was in his cousin, Umar’s corner when the bantamweight fighter defeated Cory Sandhagen to surpass him in the line for the title fight against champion Sean O’Malley.
So needless to say, his impact in a fighter’s corner cannot be underestimated. Having been studying the sport for such a long time has granted him foresight into how fights are won. And right now, he’s passing on that legacy to anyone who trains with him in the Dagestani camp.
