Ahead of his third Bellator lightweight title defense, Usman has named Nurmagomedov his MMA GOAT, surprising fans.
On January 25, Usman Nurmagomedov will defend his lightweight title against Irish star Paul Hughes in another grudge match between Russia and Ireland.
Ahead of his title fight against 'Big News', tensions have risen between the two after Nurmagomedov's cousin and coach, Khabib Nurmagomedov, criticized the state of Irish MMA, which subsequently reignited his feud with Conor McGregor.
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Usman Nurmagomedov calls Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov his MMA GOAT
As Russia continues to grow in dominance in the MMA world, most of that success is due to the late Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov, Khabib's father.
The former Eagles MMA coach mentored several champions during his time as head coach, putting Eagles MMA on the map and allowing him to compete with gym giants American Top Team, Team Alpha Male and many more.
Abdulmanap coached both Khabib and Islam Makhachev to become UFC lightweight champions and also had a significant impact on the careers of both Usman and Umar Nurmagomedov.
The legendary coach sadly passed away in 2020 after complications from COVID-19, which subsequently led to Khabib's retirement from MMA and move to become a coach himself.
The GOAT debate in MMA is being debated by fans around the world, with the likes of Jon Jones, Khabib, Anderson Silva and Georges St-Pierre being favored in the debate.
Despite this, ahead of his title defense on January 25, Usman has named Abdulmanap the GOAT of MMA.
“My opinion, on who is the best fighter of all time, is Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov,” the undefeated Russian told CBS Sports.
“He made us. Not only was he a coach, he was also a competitor, in judo, wrestling, everything. He made the whole team. He made us. I have no competition with my brothers. This is (other) people's deal.
“But for me, one of the best, it's my uncle, it's my older brother Umar, it's Islam, it's Khabib. All these guys are better than me,” he continued.
Usman Nurmagomedov threatens to 'crush' Conor McGregor
As always, Khabib will be part of his corner team for his fight against Hughes on January 25. And with that, Hughes made an offer to McGregor to be part of his corner team, opposite his enemy, Khabib.
McGregor told Hughes that when things get going he will be there to support his compatriot, but this has not phased Bellator's lightweight champion, who claims he will also fight McGregor if necessary.
'It doesn't matter (if McGregor shows up). Even if Conor comes to the cage, I can crush both of these guys. I don't care,” Nurmagomedov told Brian Campbell in an interview.
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