Islam, Umar Get Top 'Name' For UFC 311 Camp

12/31/2024 02:11 PM

Current UFC welterweight champion, Belal Muhammad, recently joined forces with reigning lightweight titleholder, Islam Makhachev, and No. 2-ranked bantamweight contender, Umar Nurmagomedov, as they prepare for their respective title fights at the upcoming UFC 311 pay-per-view (PPV) event on Jan. 18 at Intuit Dome in Los Angeles.

The footage of Muhammad bouncing around the American Kickboxing Academy (AKA) gym would suggest "Remember the Name" is close to a full recovery after being hospitalized with a bone infection earlier this year, one serious enough to cancel his 170-pound title defense against undefeated welterweight contender, Shavkat Rakhmonov.

Former lightweight champion and current AKA coach, Khabib Nurmagomedov, insists Makhachev still has work to do, judging by their interaction in this separate video:

Makhachev: "We trained hard this week, you can tell by my face. Let's ask our coach."

Khabib: "Am I happy or not? Honestly? Four out of five."

Makhachev: "Four? What do we need to do to get to five?"

Khabib: "Did we take a break on Wednesday evening?"

Makhachev: "Yeah ... wasn't allowed to?"

Khabib: "No, of course not. We only rest on Saturday and Sunday evening."

Makhachev (26-1) defends his 155-pound strap in a rematch against No. 1-ranked lightweight contender, Arman Tsarukyan (22-3). As for Umar (18-0), he challenges newly-crowned bantamweight titleholder Merab Dvalishvili (18-4) in the UFC 311 co-main event.

Muhammad (24-3) is expected to make his Octagon return against Rakhmonov (19-0) this spring.