3 Years After His Death, Khabib’s Late Father Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov’s Legacy Has Coach Mendez Making an Emotional Promise

Khabib Nurmagomedov is one of the greatest mixed martial artists of all time. And one of the main reasons for this, according to the Dagestani, was his father, Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov. The elder Nurmagomedov established his prowess as a sambo coach. He set Khabib on his martial arts journey from a young age, instilling discipline and abilities in his son.

Famously, he even had Khabib wrestle bear cubs in order to toughen up his son and improve his grappling skills. And Khabib’s former AKA gym coach, Javier Mendez, has paid tribute to Abdulmanap on social media.

Khabib Nurmagomedov coach pays tribute to ‘The Eagle’s father

Mendez took to his Instagram account and posted an image of him, Khabib, and his father holding ‘The Eagle’s lightweight title belt. “Fathers plan will be with us always & forever ❤️🙏🏽❤️ #legacy,” he captioned the post, in a heartfelt tribute to the elder Nurmagomedov.

However, Khabib is not the only champion who trained under Abdulmanap. Current lightweight champion Islam Makhachev, who is Khabib’s childhood friend, also started training under his friend’s father, as did his cousins, Usman and Abubakar Nurmagomedov.

The former UFC Lightweight champion’s father’s legacy lives long but it led to the untimely retirement of his son.

Father’s untimely passing led Khabib to retirement

Abdulmanap passed away due to COVID-19 in 2020, which left Khabib devastated. This set of events caused him to announce his retirement in a tearful speech following his fight with Justin Gaethje. He revealed later that he had talked to his mother, who did not want him to fight without his father, to which he agreed.

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What do you think about Javier Mendez’s tribute to Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov? Let us know in the comments section below.

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