Before Khabib Nurmagomedov became ‘The Eagle’ he was an ambitious hard-working guy who dreamt of becoming the greatest fighter of all time. Leaving his hometown in Dagestan, Nurmagomedov in a leap of faith landed on US soil to make it big in UFC and AKA gym helped him get there. But did you know that it wasn’t his first home in the West?
The former LW champ has shared a wholesome video of him revisiting his old gym, and coaches to relive and bask in some nostalgic bliss.
Khabib and his crew recently went down to K-Dojo to go back to their roots. Nurmagomedov surprised his former coach with an unexpected visit and even had an intense training session for old-time’s sake.
K-Dojo is where Nurmagomedov started his American journey. Under the tutelage of Murat Keshtov, he trained, trained, and trained for a good half of 2012 before he moved to AKA in California, seeking the guidance of Javier Mendez. In the video, Keshtov is seen elated to have the undefeated champion returning to spend time with him.
Excluding the current LW champion, Islam Makhachev, most of the Dagestani camp including the Bellator LW champ, Usman Nurmagomedov accompanied Nurmagomedov to his old gym.
But K Dojo is not the only nostalgia Khabib seems to be craving. After paying his former coach a surprise visit, the Dagestani will return to the UFC after two years as Makhachev’s cornerman at UFC 302.
Khabib Nurmagomedov returns to the UFC after a two-year hiatus to back Makhachev
We’re merely a day away from a mega fight between lightweight champion, Islam Makhachev and veteran Dustin ‘The Diamond’ Poirier. This will be Makhachev’s third title defense after he snagged the LW gold from Charles Oliveira at UFC 280 in 2022. For Poirier, this might as well be his final crack at the title after his previous two failed attempts to dethrone the then-champions.
One of those attempts was against Khabib Nurmagomedov but Poirier ended up succumbing to the latter via submission in the third round, like many before him.
Years have passed since then and now Poirier is facing Khabib’s protege, Islam Makhachev with him in his corner. This is the first time in 2 years that Khabib is doing so for a fight. This of course only adds to the importance of the fight. A young fighter on the rise, trying to build a legacy while a grizzled veteran charges in for what is essentially his last stand.
