Khabib Nurmagomedov is in the latter part of his coaching career ahead of what is expected to be a busy night for him at UFC 311.
UFC Hall of Famer Khabib Nurmagomedov has become one of the top coaches in MMA since retiring from his legendary fighting career. All of his students, including current UFC titleholders Islam Makhachev and Belal Muhammad, have had successful runs inside the cage.
Khabib, his cousins Umar and Usman, along with Makhachev, have a combined professional MMA record of 91-1. The only loss on the team tree came when Makhachev was knocked out by Adriano Martins at UFC 192.
UFC 311 will be one of the busiest nights of Nurmagomedov's coaching tenure as Makhachev and Umar compete in the top two fights of the card. Makhachev will defend his UFC lightweight title against Arman Tsarukyan, while Umar will fight for the UFC bantamweight title against Merab Dvalishvili.
Nurmagomedov has expressed brutal honesty in the way he thinks about coaching some of the best athletes in the world. UFC 311 could potentially be one of the last times we see the UFC Hall of Famer in a high-profile fighting angle.
Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images
Khabib Nurmagomedov is getting closer to retiring from coaching
In a recent interview with ESPN's Brett Okamoto, Nurmagomedov was asked how long he can coach with his current workload.
“When the boys are done, I'll finish too. I hope it goes very soon, I am tired of all this,” Nurmagomedov said. “We have been at the top of this game for seven or eight years, since I became champion. All these guys were with me, they were with my dad when I started.
“There are six to eight more [fighters competing] at a very high level. When they are ready, I will be ready too.”
Nurmagomedov retired from fighting after a successful lightweight title defense against Justin Gaethje at UFC 254. The fight took place just months after Nurmagomedov's father, Abdulmanap, passed away.
While Nurmagomedov is in the final stretch of his tenure as coach, he still has some unfinished business to take care of this weekend and beyond. After UFC 311, his cousin Usman will face Paul Hughes in the main event of the Bellator Champions Series: Dubai on January 25.
Khabib Nurmagomedov corners two huge fights at UFC 311
Nurmagomedov was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame in 2022, along with his longtime teammate and friend Daniel Cormier. Despite several attempts by UFC CEO Dana White to lure Nurmagomedov out of retirement, the global superstar has not changed his stance.
Nurmagomedov defeated the likes of Conor McGregor, Dustin Poirier and Gaethje during his historic UFC lightweight title reign. He is widely recognized as the greatest lightweight of all time, a title that Makhachev is fast approaching.
If Nurmagomedov decides to retire from MMA coaching, the sport will suffer the tremendous loss of one of fighting's greatest talent developers. In the meantime, he's looking ahead to what should be a marathon during UFC 311 fight week.
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