Khabib Nurmagomedov might be walking around at 200 lbs since his retirement from active competition in 2020, but the man had been walking around with abs since he was 17. A picture of young Khabib from 2005 has been doing rounds on social media and fans can’t help but admire how insanely jacked he looked even back then.
Khabib Nurmagomedov pictured in 2005, aged 17 years old. pic.twitter.com/2HRDElgzBF
— Home of Fight (@Home_of_Fight) January 2, 2025
It’s not very surprising that Khabib has been in shape since he was wrestling bears from the age of 9. His father Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov always had the dream of making him a world champion and ensured that Khabib was rigorously working towards that goal since he was a young man.
However, seeing just how good his physique was is still surprising. Some fans believe it was more than the training that got him into shape and said, “That’s crazy genetics“. Another couldn’t believe how young Khabib was in this picture and commented, “No way he’s 17 here“.
This guy was just fanboying when he said, “Eagle is flexing his wings“. Another fan was just impressed by the work Khabib had already put into his body at this age and said, “Mofo was grinding at such a young age, very respectable“.
And now it appears. Khabib is instilling the same work ethic in his fighters as a coach. Whenever he joins Islam Makhachev’s fight camp, the lightweight champion has a bit of dread set in on his face. In an interview, Islam even asked Khabib’s friend Daniel Cormier to join the camp and control him. “Try. Try. Try“, he requested DC.
Islam Makhachev asked Daniel Cormier to come to the camp to help control Khabib, because he is pushing them too hard in training.
Islam: “Maybe you can come join us and control him a little bit because he doesn’t listen to Javier.”
DC: “He is just a psychopath nobody can… pic.twitter.com/kOl7UOR2TS
— MMA.PROS.PICK (@MMAPROSPICK) December 17, 2024
Khabib is not wrong to work him to the bones though. Islam is set to defend his title for the fourth time against Arman Tsarukyan at UFC 311. And considering just how close his third title defense fight against Dustin Poirier was, Khabib is right to be a little worried.
Islam vs Arman at UFC 311
For long, Islam has been touted as this unbeatable fighter, especially on the ground. And rightfully so. He has dominated since winning the title against Charles Oliveira at UFC 280. But his last fight against Poirier, not only saw his takedowns being successfully stuffed, the challenger also managed to crack open his face in a striking contest.
Make no mistake, Islam was still dominating on paper, but Poirier had him on the ropes. And for the first time, he looked vulnerable in the fight. And his opponent at UFC 311, Tsarukyan knows it.
“He’s not as good as people think… I mean, people think he’s unbeatable, crazy wrestling. But I took him down when I was 22 years old, so.”
When the pair fought for the first time in 2019, Arman managed to take down Islam and fight him on the ground. Granted, since then, Islam has improved leaps and bounds, becoming a more complete fighter but so has Arman.
So when the two go to town on January 19, expect fireworks. If Islam wins, he will have become the greatest UFC lightweight in living memory. If Arman wins, he will have effectively proved that the Dagestanis can indeed be defeated.
