Is Magomed Ankalaev Really Part of Team Khabib Nurmagomedov?

Dagestani light heavyweight fighter Magomed Ankalaev has a dominant, wrestling-heavy style that reminds fans of Khabib Nurmagomedov and his team. Given the similarities in their approach to fighting, the natural assumption has been that Ankalaev is also a product of the legendary camp. But is he?

Here is a look at Ankalaev’s journey in fight sport to shed light on his mixed martial arts lineage.  

Early life and upbringing 

Ankalaev was born on June 2, 1992 in Teletl’, a village in Russia’s Dagestan region. Growing up in a family of Avar descent, he was introduced to wrestling at an early age. While attending Dagestan State University, where he studied at the Faculty of Sports, the 205-pounder trained in Greco-Roman wrestling for a year.

He then transitioned to combat sambo, earning the title of Master of Sports in the discipline. This foundation paved the way for his successful career in mixed martial arts.

Where does Ankalaev train?

Since the start of his MMA career, Ankalaev has stayed loyal to one team — Fight Club Akhmat. Founded by the warlord Ramzan Kadyrov (of the Khamzat Chimaev fame, if you can say that), the Chechen-based gym has produced some serious UFC talent. It has even been a training spot for former heavyweight champ Fabricio Werdum.

Ankalaev hones his skills under coaches Sukhrab Magomedov and Alibatyrov Shamil, but when he’s prepping for fights in the UFC, he switches. Whenever he’s in the United States, Ankalaev trains with Eric Nicksick at Xtreme Couture, one of the most respected MMA gyms around. 

But it’s not just about coaching — Ankalaev has some serious training partners in both locations. While in Dagestan, he sharpens his game with other Russian standouts, and in the U.S., he’s trained with former middleweight champ Sean Strickland and other top-level fighters that Nicksick works with.

Interestingly, Strickland has also been training with light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira, Ankalaev’s opponent for UFC 313. Pereira and Strickland had fought for the title at middleweight at UFC 276 in July 2022.

Although Strickland got a thorough beating in the one-sided affair, he has since become best friends with the Brazilian champion. So much so that during his 185 lbs title challenge against Dricus du Plessis at UFC earlier this year, Pereira was present as Strickland’s cornerman.

So, perhaps Ankalaev’s fight camp for his title campaign at UFC didn’t involve the American that much.

This brings us to the Khabib question. The assumption that Ankalaev and Khabib train together stems from the fact that they hail from the same region.

Khabib and his crew typically train at the American Kickboxing Academy (AKA) under Javier Mendez, while Ankalev sticks to Xtreme Couture in the US.

People also presume that since Ankalaev is Dagestani, his wrestling is just in the same league as the lighter weight class compatriots, Islam Makhachev and Umar Nurmagomedov.

However, that is not the case. While Ankalaev is a wrestling-dominant fighter, he is perhaps not as dependent on it as the Team Khabib fighters. Ankalaev is a far more efficient striker than he gets credit for.