It’s no doubt that Khabib Nurmagomedov and Islam Makhachev are two of the most dominant lightweights in the history of the UFC. Not an easy feat to claim as the UFC’s 155 lb division has been home to some of the promotion’s greatest talents.

But despite the sheer competition, the two Dagestanis have used their high-level ground game to capture the divisional gold, beating the likes of former champions like Conor McGregor and Charles Oliveira on their respective ways to the title. During this entire run, the two men stood shoulder-to-shoulder, not just training together but also cornering each other in the fights. No doubt the two share a special bond. But are the two fighters siblings?

Are Khabib Nurmagomedov and Islam Makhachev related?

Despite what their bromance would suggest, Islam Makhachev and Khabib Nurmagomedov are not related to each other. The two Dagestanis are teammates and have trained together since they were teenagers. Nurmagomedov, who is the older of the two, has acted as a mentor to Makhachev in his combat sports journey, which spans across the two sports.

Before transitioning to MMA, the two men competed in combat sambo, one of the most challenging combat sports. However, despite the gruesome nature of the martial arts, both men became world champions. This grip over sambo could also be seen in their Octagon game, which the two men utilize to outpace their opponents enforcing their superior grappling.

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During their Sambo career, the two men trained together and continued to do so when they eventually moved to the States to train MMA at the American Kickboxing Academy. In many of their UFC bouts, the two men could be seen cornering each other. After going 29-0, Khabib had already bid his farewell to the sport of MMA, but the fighter can still be seen mentoring Makhachev as his teammate continues to push forward his legacy.

The two men have dominated the UFC’s lightweight division

Making his UFC debut in 2012, Khabib Nurmagomedov is arguably the second most popular figure in the sport. In his time with the promotion, ‘The Eagle’  went undefeated, edging out the likes of Conor McGregor, Dustin Poirier, and Rafael dos Anjos. In a fashion, Makhachev too has shown domination of similar magnitude, winning all but one of his UFC fights. And just like his teammate, Makhachev also became the UFC lightweight champion, under the former’s guidance, in 2022.

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According to the CEO of Khabib-owned Eagle FC, Rizvan Magomedov, Makhachev’s road to glory was intentionally delayed by the UFC. If Magomedov is to be believed, the promotion knew that if Islam headed to the top of the division, the fighter would likely avoid going up against Nurmagomedov. Hence, Dana White’s company intentionally avoided giving big fights to Makhachev. Nevertheless, the 31-year-old is a champion now, currently gearing up to lock horns with Charles Oliveira at UFC 294.