It doesn’t take much for MMA fans on the internet to latch on to something oddly specific. Case in point, this picture of former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov’s late father and coach, Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov.
To most UFC fans, the picture of Abdulmanap that comes to mind is of the old, wise-looking man, always in Khabib and Islam Makhachev’s corner.
To others, the UFC Hall of Famer’s father was also the man who forgave Conor McGregor amid his feud with Khabib, stating that their faith asked them to be compassionate.
So it is unlikely that had he ever made the father of middleweight title contender, Khamzat Chimaev, Abdulmanap would have tried to see if he was worth his salt, even during his younger days.
Unfortunately, Reddit can be far less respectful. “Khabib’s (Nurmagomedov) dad vs Khamzat’s (Chimaev) dad is the real fight we want,” a user responded to an old picture of Abdulmanap on Reddit.
That said, some Redditors were taken in by the sheer aura the man was farming in this photo.
“I’ve never been so intimidated looking at a photo. I keep looking away in case he thinks I’m staring. Is he still looking? I feel like he’s still looking”, one man joked.
“Thats just wide khabib“, said another, commenting on how much Khabib and he looked alike.
Khabib’s just like his father
The two are also said to be very much like each other. Retiring after Abdulmanap’s passing in 2020, Khabib has since taken on the mantle of coach from his father.
He conducts training camps and takes care of combat sports schools the family has all over Dagestan.
Despite claiming it stresses him out more to be a coach than it ever did as a fighter, the 29-0 former champion claims to want to do this as long as his current teammates are active in MMA.
Since his retirement, Khabib has, however, taken a leaf from the book of his father, Abdulmanap — teaching a host of students at his own facility in Dagestan.
“All these guys were with me, they were with my father when I was starting. There are still 6-8 at a very high level. When they finish, I will finish too”, he had said, noting, “I hope it’s going to be very fast, I’m tired of all this“.
Unfortunately, that is not going to happen soon, especially since he plays such a key role in the camp of their greatest product- Islam.
Islam’s coach at the American Kickboxing Academy in the USA, Javier Mendez explained just how important Khabib was to their own process.
“Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying I don’t coach you guys, and I’m not the head coach, I am the head coach. But as a head coach, I lay back and I let the person that’s actually the real leader be the leader. And he’s the real leader“, he asserted.
It is perhaps a sign of this very leadership that he has managed to keep Ilia Topuria at bay. The former featherweight champion has been trying to secure a spot at the top of the 155 lbs division and challenge Islam for the title, but Khabib isn’t having it.
He has asked Ilia to pick another battle and become worthy of Makhachev’s legacy before calling him out with silly threats of potential humiliation.
