Being a UFC champion might be a solo act but getting there isn’t. UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev is a testament to this. Islam has a brother, Kurban Ismail Makhachev, who sacrificed his own career so his brother could follow his own ambitions.
While he was starting his journey in MMA, Islam realized he was not making enough money to support his family and was going to give up his career in the sport. But his brother stayed his hand, working two jobs to support the family.
This act of his allowed Islam to pursue his passion and the sacrifice paid off in the end. It took a painful few years to get to the top of that mountain but Islam climbed it regardless.
And now Kurban doesn’t need to work a day in his life if he doesn’t want to.
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This touching story of true brotherly love had fans in the comments section praising Kurban, “Major respect to him“.
Another fan prayed for his elder brother by saying, “But seriously bless this man.. good brother“. This fan spoke about how fitting the name Kurban was, “Sacrifice his career for his brothers, fitting name“.
Yes, Kurban is an Arabic/Urdu name that literally means ‘Sacrifice’!
One fan was in awe of this sibling bond and stated, “Nothing better in this life than having a loyal blood brother“.
Kurban will now be hoping his younger brother continues his generational run of form in the UFC. His next hurdle is Arman Tsarukyan who all but confirmed the title fight with the champion in January.
Tsarukyan says Makhachev fight is official
Arman Tsarukyan is looking to avenge his loss to Makhachev from back in the day. Of course, it also helps that if he can manage to do that, he would also have become the UFC lightweight champion in the process.
The fight has been in the pipeline for quite some time but Arman has revealed that he expects the UFC to make the announcement within the week. In an interview with TNT Sports on YouTube, he said,
“They already told me the place and the date, but right now, only we and the UFC staff know. I think within one week, it’s going to be official”
Meanwhile, Islam’s manager Rizvan Magomedov has already given fans a tentative return date of January 18.
This fight is going to make or break the entire dynamic of the lightweight division. After taking out two legends of the sport, Islam will be looking to continue his run of form upon a return from injury.
