Khabib Nurmagomedov unimpressed with Islam Makhachev's training in new footage ahead of UFC 311
12/30/2024 05:16 AM
UFC 311 is going to be a busy night for Khabib Nurmagomedov; first, he corners Cousin Umar for his bantamweight title fight, before turning around to aid Islam Makhachev in the main event.
'The Eagle' would love to fly off from the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles with both UFC championship belts in tow – and he's making sure that Islam Makhachev isn't taking his eye off the ball so close to his title showdown.
Khabib Nurmagomedov unimpressed with Islam Makhachev's training
Dominant lightweight Islam Makhachev returns to the octagon on January 18 in a highly anticipated rematch against Armenian wrestler, Arman Tsarukyan, in the main event of UFC 311.
Despite putting Makhachev through his paces during training camp, the legendary Khabib Nurmagomedov is desperate to make sure that his star pupil does everything he can to stay focused… Even if that means bringing him down a peg or two.
"This week has been all about hard work [and] you can see the result on my face," Makhachev stated in a recent Instagram video, showing off some minor bumps and bruises from sparring.
"Let's ask the coach – Khabib, what do you think about the team [this week]?"
"Am I pleased or not? Honestly – Four out of five," lamented Nurmagomedov, which understandably shocked the lightweight champion.
"Four?!" a dejected Makhachev stated, with Khabib even admitting that it was "hardly" a four-out-of-five score anyway – for one simple reason.
"Brother, did you have some rest on Wednesday night?"
"Yeah… So, we shouldn't have to [take time off]?"
"No, of course not – we only rest on Sunday and Saturday evenings and that's it."
"Okay, I got you… We won't have a rest anymore."
Whilst Makhachev sounded bitterly disappointed with his coach's assessment of what looked to have been an incredibly tough week, it's simply evidence of the mindset that got Nurmagomedov to legendary MMA status.
Islam Makhachev admits camp is 'tough' when Khabib turns up
In an interview shared and translated from Russian by 'Yukah MMA', the UFC lightweight champion was keen to drive home the fact that whilst he has several gameplans ready for Tsarukyan, so does coach Khabib.
"There has never been a fight when someone fully stopped my wrestling, even if it turns out that I cannot wrestler, there should always be a Plan B… There is also Khabib in my corner with his own plan [on how to win] – he can quickly change the game plan [and] give advice.
Whilst Nurmagomedov might be the leading Makhachev's preparation, his gym's notoriety means that 'The Eagle' can't be there 24/7.
"We were talking ere at the training camp, he called. He wanted to come for a week, I answered that there are about 500 people at the base – and he decided to change his plans.
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"We were here with Khabib for the last training camp, [and] it was very tough. Training camp usually begins with adaptation and acclimatization, but if Khabib is here, that's it, we start with the wrestling [drills] right away… And that whole training camp was tough."
UFC 311: Makhachev vs Tsarukyan goes down on Saturday, January 18.
