Traveling from one venue to another amid being away from his family isn’t something that Khabib Nurmagomedov is fond of. However, he’s always there to support his teammates, and as expected, ‘The Eagle’ returned to corner both his cousin Umar and Islam Makhachev at UFC 311, but things didn’t work out a hundred percent in their favor. Umar Nurmagomedov was handed his first professional defeat while losing the chance to win UFC gold, which really stung his mentor, but there’s no time to rest for ‘The Eagle’ as Umar’s brother is up next.

Khabib Nurmagomedov’s reaction after Umar’s loss went viral on social media. He was visibly distraught at his cousin’s defeat as the 18-1 fighter just couldn’t handle Merab Dvalishvili’s relentless pace, especially in the closing rounds. But there’s no looking back for the Nurmagomedov dugout, as we are nearing the PFL lightweight title fight in Dubai on January 25, which has been hyped as the next edition of the ‘Dagestan vs Ireland’ showdown.

‘The Eagle’ is in the UAE, going by his recent Instagram story, where he reminded his fans and followers about Usman Nurmagomedov‘s fight against Paul Hughes. “This Saturday Dubai. Coca-Cola Arena,” Khabib wrote as he shared a prepared Usman Nurmagomedov’s message to the Irishman – “Almost time.”

Usman Nurmagomedov may be occupied with his upcoming fight, as seen on Khabib’s Instagram story, and some argue that he could be distracted since his older brother succumbed to a loss last weekend. However, it seems like it hasn’t affected him as much because the 26-year-old encouraged his brother to keep his chin up and rectify their mistakes in an uplifting social media post.

Usman Nurmagomedov sends a heartwarming message to Umar ahead of his PFL fight

Being a few years younger than Umar Nurmagomedov, Usman had some words for how his brother’s UFC 311 fight went down. He lauded the 18-1 star for his determination as he continued to go on and fight all five rounds despite injuring himself in the first round. Umar recently shared a video of his broken hand, and it certainly doesn’t look good.

‘Young Eagle’ already had issues with it as he broke his hand late last year during training, but he showed great heart and Usman seems inspired by that. “You did a great job, broke your arm in the first round, but still took three rounds and fought like a man until the end,” Usman Nurmagomedov wrote on social media (translated via Instagram).

The consensus surrounding Umar’s fight against Merab Dvalishvili is that Khabib Nurmagomedov‘s cousin won the first two rounds, but lost the last three rounds as he gassed out. But guess what? Usman claims that his brother should have won the fight. But that’s beside the point, according to the PFL (Bellator) lightweight champion. He claims it’s all about accepting “the inevitable with dignity,” and coming back stronger.“I have no doubt that you won this fight, and people can talk. Let them talk,” Usman Nurmagomedov added. “We will work on our mistakes, and we will come back stronger than ever.” 

Well, it clearly looks like Team Khabib is looking forward to what lies ahead, which is Usman Nurmagomedov’s third title defense. Do you believe he’ll be able to retain his title against Paul Hughes? Drop your comments below.