UFC Fans were delighted to witness a wholesome moment between Islam Makhachev, Khabib Nurmagomedov, and Magomed Abdusalamov at UFC 302. Abdulsalamov is a former boxer from Russia who boasted an 18-0 unbeaten record. However, in his last fight against Mike Perez in 2013, Abdulsalamov suffered a severe head injury and had to be put into a medically induced coma.
Although the Russian has recovered from the coma now, he is confined to a wheelchair for most of the time and it is impossible for him to return to the ring. Still, the former boxer shares a warm relationship with Islam Makhachev and Khabib Nurmagomedov, and he had come to the Prudential Center to watch the UFC 302 main event fight.
Following the fight, the champ and Nurmagomedov met up with Abdusalamov backstage and shared a touching moment with him in a clip posted by Red Corner MMA on Instagram,
“Maga, how are you? It’s my first time seeing you in person. How are you, brother? Looking good.”
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Islam Makhachev took time out to meet his fellow countryman, despite having just fought a dogfight against Dustin Poirier. he also asked Abdulsalamov for his views on the fight, and the former boxer responded by saying it was “cool.”
Later, Khabib Nurmagomedov also greeted the 43-year-old and spent some heartfelt moments with him.
The UFC 302 fight was a dogfight in every sense of the word. Dustin Poirier put Makhachev through his paces, and the post-fight reaction from Khabib Nurmagomedov shows how much it means to him.
Watch: Team Khabib Nurmagomedov rushes the octagon to dogpile Islam Makhachev at UFC 302
Khabib Nurmagomedov found himself in the corner for Islam Makhachev after a long time. However, he was still as vocal and as expressive as ever.
The former champ was shouting instructions at Makhachev throughout the fight, and when the champ finally submitted his opponent, ‘The Eagle’ rushed in to embrace him,
These post fight scenes between Islam Makhachev, Dustin Poirier and Khabib Nurmagomedov are incredible. So much respect on display here.
pic.twitter.com/cRGY8YSEHQ— Chamatkar Sandhu (@SandhuMMA) June 2, 2024
At the same time, Nurmagomedov knew that Dustin Poirier gave Islam Makhachev the toughest fight of his career so far. So ‘The Eagle’ then went over and helped ‘The Diamond’ up. In fact, the entire post-fight sequence between Makhachev, Nurmagomedov, and Poirier was just emotional to watch as a UFC fan.
Makhachev’s team knew how important it was for him to secure this win. However, they were also sad to see a legend like Poirier lose in possibly his last fight in the UFC.
