Khabib Nurmagomedov treasures brotherhood and family over everything. He has always been a proponent of surrounding himself with good people and staying loyal to them. Well, according to his teammate, ‘The Eagle’ was willing to sacrifice $6 million in order to help his friend out. The meteoric rise of Khabib in the UFC paved the way for team Nurmagomedov to expand. Following his footsteps, a lot of Russian athletes aspired to make it big in the Dana White-led promotion. One such fighter was Zubaira Tukhugov.
Zubaira Tukhugov recently sat down for an interview with Aslanbek Badaev on YouTube. ‘Red Corner MMA’ on Instagram then translated the Russian interview into English, where Tukhugov spoke about Nurmagomedov’s act. He said,
“Dana White said that they had no room for me on that card (Abu Dhabi card)….But Khabib was like ‘Ok, I’m going to rip this contract up now’. I will give my spot on the card to Zubaira.”
According to Tukhugov, Dana White was unwilling to allot a fight on the UFC 242 card to Tukhugov. However, it was at this moment that Khabib Nurmagomedov stepped up and was willing to give up a reported $6 million contract just so his friend and teammate could fight. Surely, it appears that when Nurmagomedov said “loyal is number one”, he truly did mean it. He was not even afraid of picking up a fight with his boss, Dana White, when it came to protecting the wellbeing of his fellow countryman.
Currently, the former champion is out of the game and barely comes into the limelight anymore. However, he still supports his teammates on social media, and right after his retirement, he even began coaching them.
Khabib Nurmagomedov helped teammates attain UFC glory
Khabib Nurmagomedov had a short stint as a coach immediately after his retirement. ‘The Eagle’ announced his retirement in March 2021, and 7 months later he took on the role of a coach.
UFC 267 took place in Abu Dhabi and ‘The Eagle’ was in the corner of three of his teammates, Tagir Ulanbekov, Zubaira Tukhugov, and Islam Makhachev.
All three fighters were training under the American Kickboxing Academy banner and everyone of them secured victories on the night. Unfortunately, Khabib’s stint as a coach did not last very long. In early 2023, he decided to retire completely from the sport.
‘The Eagle’ now supports his brother Umar Nuramagomedov and other fighters through social media, offering them support. He also trains alongside them but does not attend their fights anymore.
