Islam Makhachev and Khabib Nurmagomedov appear to have about as much in common as one could imagine.
For years, the current UFC lightweight champion Makhachev was touted as the second coming of his longtime teammate and mentor, Nurmagomedov. Some of those in the pair’s circles even went as far as to label Makhachev as “Khabib 2.0,” as did Nurmagomedov himself.
Nurmagomedov’s incredible 29-0 career was cut short by a promise made to his family — more specifically his mother — who wanted him to retire after the passing of his father and lifelong coach, Abdulmanap. That’s exactly what “The Eagle” did after defeating Justin Gaethje in October 2020, and Makhachev has revealed that his own mother is in the same boat as Nurmagomedov’s.
“My mother doesn’t watch fights,” Makhachev told UFC Russia. “Not just my fights, fights in general. She doesn’t like seeing people hit each other.
“When I came home [after winning the title], there were a lot of people there. She said, ‘You’re champion now. Wrap it up. Khabib listened to his mother, when will you listen to yours?’”
While Nurmagomedov ended his career prematurely in the eyes of many because he was still on top of the sport, he likely only would have fought once more as reaching 30-0 was a known goal. During his run, he managed to tie the record for title defenses in the UFC lightweight division with three.
Makhachev recently earned his first successful defense at UFC 284 in Perth, Australia, defeating the featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski in an epic contest via unanimous decision. It remains to be seen if Makhachev will make any similar commitments the way that Nurmagomedov did to his mother, but fans can at least expect a couple more defenses out of the surging new champion.
“I told her Khabib defended his title and I need to do the same,” Makhachev said. “It’s a hard topic for my mother. My father’s the opposite. He watches all the fights.”
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The MMA Hour.
UFC Vegas 70 trailer.
Free fights.
Bellator 291 crossroads.
Epic Bellator prelim moments.
Breaking down Blanchfield.
Shade.
They called him “best striker in the world” pic.twitter.com/NXoCFdAXor
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Love of the game.
The culmination of hundreds of hours of work with dozens of people.Hours and hours of worries,doubts,hopes and fears all expressed in 15minutes. It’s ironic we train so hard to be confident in martial combat yet expose ourself to millions of fans at home. I love this sport @ufc pic.twitter.com/nFhvrpDkP2
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Mood, indeed
Fuck y’all if you doubt me.
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Monday mood, let’s go
Professionally unprofessional.
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Views.
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Yes, it was.
Ryan Spann's last knockout was VICIOUS
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Superman's back in action in Saturday's #UFCVegas70 main event! pic.twitter.com/CfVZVYkiBo
Roads.
Choose the hard road… #goggins #rawgear pic.twitter.com/6GPivO482a
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Arrival.
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Finally.
1359 days since her last fight, undefeated @TatianaUFC is BACK this Saturday at #UFCVegas70!! pic.twitter.com/mdEx52klaV
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Where isn’t Chael promoting these days?
Danielle Kelly only has ONE goal in mind Catch her submission grappling battle with Ayaka Miura on February 24 at ONE Fight Night 7 on Prime Video! #ONEFightNight7
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Live TV broadcast in 170+ countries pic.twitter.com/OlXCcVAoB7
Smile!
My missing tooth doesn’t look bad and holly makes this pic nice. pic.twitter.com/TDqK1kB1jA
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Live it up.
Stance.
Got offered $200,000 for sponsorship from betting company
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But I said once and will say again I will never advertise gambling, alcohol or drugs. Allah gave me more than I asked , alhamdulillah I have more than I I asked God 10 years ago!
Anticipation.
Legends.
Knees.
Wednesday dance.
Jairzinho Rozenstruik (13-4) vs. Jailton Almeida (18-2); UFC Fight Night, May 13
These MMA moms just don’t want us to have any fun, man.
Thanks for reading!
Last Week’s Results:
Friday: 86% of 828 total votes answered “Yes” when asked, “Should the UFC allow Daniel Cormier to commentate Jon Jones’ fights?”
Thursday: 54% of 476 total votes answered “Yes” when asked, “Does Beneil Dariush get the next UFC lightweight title shot?”
Wednesday: 70% of 757 total votes answered “Yes” when asked, “Will we ever get an Islam Makhachev vs. Alex Volkanovski rematch?”
Tuesday: x68% of 617 total votes answered “Jessica Andrade” when asked, “Who wins this weekend?” Erin Blanchfield defeated Andrade via second-round submission (rear-naked choke) in the main event of UFC Vegas 69.
Monday: 63% of 632 total votes answered “Alexander Volkanovski” when asked, “Who wins a rematch?” Islam Makhachev defeated Volkanovski via unanimous decision in the main event of UFC 284.
Today’s exit poll:
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