“Be close with your parents… because you never know what’s going to happen tomorrow.” These words sent an emotional shockwave through the MMA realm, as Khabib Nurmagomedov dropped down in tears after defeating Justin Gaethje at UFC 254. Well, that was the first time, and the only time when ‘The Eagle’ fought and won an event without his father, Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov, in his corner. His father’s passing due to COVID-19 took a heavy toll on him. No wonder, he asked the young fight fans to be close to their parents. But fast forward to March 2025, Nurmagomedov claimed that there was another entity who was closest to him. 

On 18 March 2025, the former undefeated UFC lightweight champion took to Instagram and shared a picture on his IG Story. The post showed him posing alongside Imamshafi Aliev and Ali Aliev. In the caption, Nurmagomedov tagged Ali Aliev and wrote, “This is my closest person, although he is not enough in my Instagram. (As translated from Russian via Instagram).”

Soon, the former Bellator contender reshared the Story and wrote, “May Allah protect you.” But what exactly brought the Alievs so close to Nurmagomedov? 

The story begins in 2024, when ‘The Eagle’ faced a bit of disappointment when the 26-year-old lost his bout against Jordan Newman. After all, Nurmagomedov was the one shouting instructions from his corner. But that’s not the only reason why they’re so close. The thing is, Imamshafi Aliev has been training with Nurmagomedov for a long time now; he was one of the members of Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov’s team, and so was Ali Aliev. While Imamshafi Aliev kept himself engaged in the realm of mixed martial arts, amassing a professional record of 10-1-0, Ali Aliev had a bit different route. He fought only 3 bouts and after winning 2 of them, seemingly bid farewell to the MMA cage in 2021. 

Even though Khabib Nurmagomedov considers his training mates as his closest persons, he held his parents on a special pedestal. That was the reason why he retired from the Octagon – it was all because he promised his concerned mother that he would do so right after fighting one more bout. And after that, he had a special message for the young fighters and fans – and it was all about staying close to one’s parents.

Khabib Nurmagomedov stresses being close to one’s parents

Prior to his father’s death, after defeating Dustin Poirier with a rear naked choke in UFC 242, Nurmagomedov weighed in on the importance of being close to one’s parents. He said, “Respect your parents. Be your parents’ very close. This is very important. Parents everything, you know. Your mother, your father. And everything in your life is going to be good if you’re gonna listen to your parents, mother, father, you know. Be very close with them. Other things, everything is come, because your parents are gonna teach you what you have to do.” 

‘The Eagle’ pointed out that when children reach the age of 15-17, they feel like they know everything. They feel like they got a little bit of power and forget about the time when they were babies and toddlers. Nurmagomedov emphasized that it was the time when people needed to remember what their parents did for them when they were still kids. He continued, “Now you have to remember everything. When you grow up, how they support you, how they give you life. This is very important. Be your parents’ close and that’s it.”

It’s not like Nurmagomedov simply preached about respecting parents. He stood up to his words like a champion. After hanging his gloves for good, he revealed that he followed everything that his mother asked him to do. After all, a man can have only one mother, and for Nurmagomedov, she was his everything. Well, he still lives in the same house as his mother and claims to treat her like the queen that she is. 

What are your thoughts on Nurmagomedov putting Aliev on his closest persons’ list instead of his parents? What do you think of his opinion on being close to our parents? Let us know what you think in the comments down below.