Islam Makhachev is on the verge of a high-stakes showdown against former champion Charles Oliveira, and the weight of expectation is essentially a cosmic black hole. Everyone’s eyes are fixed on the Dagestani fighter with the hope that he can emulate the feats of his mentor, Khabib Nurmagomedov. The immense pressure looming over Makhachev threatens to cloud his focus.
Yet again in the middle of all this, a dramatic twist has just unfolded – Khabib Nurmagomedov himself has chosen to join Makhachev’s training camp for the remaining duration, injecting a surge of newfound confidence and support into the mix. With Khabib joining Makchachev’s camp things will turn out to be different.
Islam Makhachev gave insights on Khabib Nurmagomedov as a coach
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Khabib Nurmagomedov delivered a seismic announcement that resonated throughout the sports world. He initially revealed his retirement from fighting back in 2020, opting to focus on coaching his team. However, at the beginning of this year, the ‘Eagle’ detonated another “Tsar bomb” within the MMA community by declaring his departure from the world of mixed martial arts altogether. This revelation created shockwaves reminiscent of the real Tsar Bomba, sending ripples of astonishment and disbelief throughout the combat community and beyond.
However, things are working out well, and they are in Islam Makhachev’s favor as “The Eagle” has decided to return from his absence and support Makhachev in his training for his fight against Charles Oliveira. Khabib will be present for two weeks with Makhachev’s team to oversee his training prowess.
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Makhachev in his most recent appearance had a conversation with ESPN journalist Brett Okamoto.”I miss the time when we were training together when we were both preparing for fights. But when he became a coach about two years ago, things changed. He started putting a lot of pressure on us, you know? We would do some drills, around 10 rounds of sparring, and after all that, after about one and a half hours, he would say, “Okay, now 5 rounds of grappling.” We never did this kind of grappling when he was training with us”. Makhachev adds
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Makhachev down in the conversation further exposes Khabib as a coach. He added “Now that he’s a coach, he acts like he’s never tired because he’s in our corner during every fight. After the old sparring sessions, he would come and say, “Let’s do some grappling now,” and then he would change his clothes and grapple with us for 5 rounds. After all of that, we would still have to do push-ups, planks, and many other things. I don’t know what tomorrow’s training session will entail, but everyone is excited to see what Khabib has planned”
The reason behind Khabib’s absence from the world of MMA
Khabib Nurmagomedov left the world of fighting back in 2020 attributed to his father’s demise who was not only his biggest supporter but also his coach. After losing his father, Nurmagomedov bid adieu to the world of fighting but he wanted to continue the legacy that his father had started thus he continued as a coach for his team including Usman Nurmagomedov and Islam Makhachev. However, After Makhachev won the prestigious lightweight title, Khabib decided to completely step away from the MMA world altogether to spend time with his family. But things seem to have changed with the ‘Eagle’ return for Makhachev.
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With Khabib’s support behind his back once again, Islam Makhachev is all set to defend his coveted lightweight title against his nemesis, Charles Oliveria. Will Islam Makhachev defend his title? Will Charles Oliveira win the title once again? only time has the answer.
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