Nurmagomedov says the shoes of their late coach, Abdulmanap
Nurmagomedov, have been filled nicely by his son, Khabib
Nurmagomedov.
Usman, Khabib, Islam
Makhachev, Umar
Nurmagomedov and their entire team, filled with elite fighters,
were initially trained by Abdulmanap in the mountains of
Dagestan.
Abdulmanap later brought the team to the U.S. to train at
American Kickboxing Academy under Javier Mendez. Khabib retired
as undefeated
Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight champion after the
death of his father in 2020. “The Eagle” has since taken up the
responsibility of guiding the team alongside Mendez.
Usman believes Khabib has fit into Abdulmanap’s role extremely
well. The
Professional Fighters League lightweight champion says his
cousin Khabib knows exactly how much a fighter must be pushed in
training. With the team being filled with champions from every
major MMA promotion, one would expect that they would train
adequately by themselves anyway. However, Usman knows from
experience that everyone can push their limits a bit more when
Khabib is around in training.
“I would compare Khabib’s role with our late Uncle Abdulmanap,”
Usman told Red Corner MMA. “He always takes center stage, he gives
assignments, he knows what a fighter should go through, and he
knows how much a man should work out. Because when we train on our
own -I know it from my own experience here and there – you may
think you have done enough work, but when Khabib is next to you,
with all his experience, he pushes us a bit more, he pushes us to
your very limits.”
Usman
Nurmagomedov highlights how Khabib’s coaching mirrors the
lessons of Abdulmanap 👏“I would compare Khabib’s role with Uncle Abdulmanap. He always
takes center stage, he gives assignments, he knows what a fighter
should go through, and he knows how much a man should work…
pic.twitter.com/5g5F6uYKPp— Red Corner MMA (@RedCorner_MMA)
February 17, 2026