How Is Umar Nurmagomedov Related to Khabib Nurmagomedov?

Umar Nurmagomedov is set to compete in the biggest fight of his MMA career at UFC 311. Featured in the co-main event, the 18-0 bantamweight star will take on Merab Dvalishvili for the division gold with a chance to emerge as the champion alongside Islam Makhachev, who’s in the main event.

With Umar being the fighter in focus ahead of the first PPV of 2025, let’s take a look at his one question that fans always have in mind. The name ‘Nurmagomedov’ holds a lot of gravity in the MMA world, which makes fans wonder if Umar is related to Khabib Nurmagomedov. Well, let’s find out here without any further ado.

Is Umar Nurmagomedov related to Khabib?

Umar Nurmagomedov has a sibling, but it’s not Khabib. He is the older brother of Usman Nurmagomedov, the Bellator lightweight champion, while ‘The Eagle’ is his cousin. He is the younger cousin of Khabib Nurmagomedov, the 29-0 former UFC lightweight champion. The relationship between the families is evident in Umar’s nickname, ‘Young Eagle’, a reference to his cousin’s moniker.

Umar is following the same path as his cousin as he stands undefeated in MMA and has a chance to win a title with an undefeated streak intact, just like Khabib Nurmagomedov. In fact, he can become the 15th undefeated fighter to win a world championship in the UFC. Umar and Khabib Nurmagomedov’s relationship doesn’t end with being cousins as ‘The Eagle’ also has a hand in helping the bantamweight become the top fighter that he is today. Let’s take a look at that front.

Is Umar trained by Khabib?

Most fans know that Khabib Nurmagomedov turned to a coaching role for current lightweight champion Islam Makhachev following his official retirement in 2021. But ‘The Eagle’ also trains Umar Nurmagomedov and his brother Usman, among others, to collectively form Team Khabib. Meanwhile, Makhachev has mentioned many times how hard it is to train under the 29-0. But is that the same for Umar? Well, it is, but he’s also grateful to have the Hall of Famer as his coach.

“We’re lucky because we have a coach like Khabib and it’s really tough to train with him, but you know, iron sharpens iron- sharpening iron… We’re becoming strong and I think it’s very good for us,” Umar Nurmagomedov told ‘SHAK MMA’. “I think it’s going to be very good for [our] legacy. If I and Usman [Nurmagomedov] retire after five or six years undefeated, I think it’s going to be very good, but we don’t think about this, we just train and prepare to win our fight, every fight.”

Well, Khabib Nurmagomedov could be doing double duty on January 18 as he has two members of his team fighting on the main card of UFC 311. It remains to be seen if the 18-0 star makes it 19-0 by winning the title.

Umar Nurmagomedov’s brother and family

Umar Nurmagomedov, as the entire MMA world knows, is Khabib’s cousin. But he is also related to another, perhaps a bit less well-known MMA star- Usman Nurmagomedov. The latter is Umar’s younger brother and started their martial arts journey together under their uncle Abdulmanap’s able tutelage.

Usman, of course, competes at lightweight- two divisions up from Umar. But unlike his undefeated UFC bantamweight, Usman is signed to Bellator, where he is the reigning lightweight champion. While nothing much is known about Usman and Umar’s parents, not even their names, we do know that their father is related to Khabib’s father, Abdulmanap.

Umar Nurmagomedov’s height, weight, record, and other stats

Umar Nurmagomedov is smaller than his older brother, Usman and his cousin Khabib, both of whom are lightweights. While we do now know ‘Young Eagle’s walk-around weight, he cuts down to 135-pounds for his fights. He stands at 5’9″ and has a wingspan of 69″.

The Dagestani bantamweight star is undefeated so far, having won all eighteen opponents he has faced in his pro career so far. Of these eighteen victories, nine have come via finishes- two by knockout and seven by submission. He made his UFC debut in 2021 and has fought (and won) six times in the promotion so far.

Umar Nurmagomedov’s wife and kids

Umar is apparently married. We say apparently because we do not have any concrete information about his personal life. Like most Dagestani fighters, ‘Young Eagle’ prefers to keep his family life private. But the reason we say he is married is because he has a son.

The undefeated Dagestani revealed that his son was born just two days before his Fight Night clash against Nate Maness in June 2022, which means his son is two years old at the moment. And since Umar is a devout Muslim, and having children outside wedlock is a big no-no in Islam, it is safe to say that he is married. But that is about all we know about his family life. Except for the fact that he named his son ‘Abdulmanap’ in honor of his uncle.

Umar Nurmagomedov’s fighting style and gym

Umar Nurmagmedov started wrestling as a child since that is the most popular sport in his native Dagestan. Just as kids play basketball or baseball in America, kids in Dagestan wrestle. And Umar was no exception. But it wasn’t until his family moved to the town of Makhachkala that he properly started training martial arts under his uncle Abdulmanap.

Umar, like the rest of his clan, has a Combat Sambo base, which he perfected against his cousins and bother. Needless to say, ‘Young Eagle’ has excellent wrestling skills, but has also developed some pretty dynamic and sharp striking to go with it. His game is perhaps the most well-rounded among his team. Once he transitioned to MMA, Umar, like the rest of his clan, joined the American Kickboxing Academy (AKA) and trains under head coach Javier Mendez.