Story Behind Often Overlooked Father of Islam Makhachev

Lightweight champion Islam Makhachev is returning to defend his crown against top contender Arman Tsarukyan at UFC 311. While he does have a win over the Armenian star, ‘Ahalkalakets’ is looking to get his redemption. However, the Dagestan native will be looking to register another successful defense, given that he has a chance to edge past his mentor, Khabib Nurmagomedov.

Yes, Islam Makhachev is just one successful title defense away from surpassing his mentor, who has three title defenses under this belt. But let’s not dive into the most talked-about part of his life, so instead, let’s dive into his personal life since he’s the fighter in focus ahead of UFC 311. Today, we’ll explore the details of his father that fans may not be aware of.

What does Islam Makhachev’s father do?

Born and brought up in the streets of Makhachkala, Islam Makhachev was weak during his boyhood years and had to fight to gain strength. The current champion was not only the favorite of his father but also the favorite of his former coach, Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov. Despite being born in a city, Makhachev spent most of his life in a remote village in the Republic of Dagestan, Burshi.

Makhachev keeps his private life under the rug and there’s very scarce information about it. However, sources stated that Makhachev’s mother was a housewife who ran a small cafe while his father was a driver and grew tomatoes in his free time. He also worked in his greenhouse and Islam used to help his father as a loader.

Makhachev in a social media post thanked his father for whatever he did for him, “My father worked harder than me to make me a champion,” said Makhachev while posting a pic of his father in childhood. Now that we know a bit about his family, let us look at what the undisputed champion had to say about them.

The UFC lightweight champ speaks about his family

Islam Makhachev has always respected his parents, and his elder brother Kurbanismail. Also, just like Khabib Nurmagomedov’s mother, Makhachev’s mother wants him to leave the world of fighting as a reigning champion. While conversing with veteran MMA referee ‘Big’ John McCarthy, and the former UFC fighter Josh Thomson, Makhachev had some lighthearted conversation about his parents.

While talking about his father, Makhachev revealed that he loved to watch him fight and win, “But my dad has more power,” said Makhachev. He further explained that although his father loved him to win matches, his mother was calling him to leave the world of fighting altogether. “You’re champion now. Wrap it up,” she said. “Khabib listened to his mother. When will you listen to yours?”

Meanwhile, becoming a UFC champion, that journey wasn’t an easy one for Islam Makhachev. He revealed all there is to know about his early training days and the struggles that came with it during an interview with the UFC.

Makhachev reveals his childhood struggles

The reigning lightweight champion had a tough journey on his way to UFC gold. Unlike the current situation where Islam Makhachev has every tool at his disposal, from high-end training equipment to world-class coaches, he started training with whatever resources he could find in the mountainous region of Dagestan. To be more specific, Makhachev and his training partners replaced weights with heavy stones. That’s how hard it was for him to make his UFC dreams come true.

“This labor – building, digging, gathering, breeding livestock – it’s all physical labor. Hard work is in our DNA,” Islam Makhachev told UFC. “We worked out using stones, often running up the mountains, sometimes three times a day, working out using stone.” This relentless hard work and drive was what made Makhachev the champion he is today.

Islam Makhachev is looking to have some more successful title defenses before he looks to move to another weight class to fulfill his double champion dreams. Regardless, what are your predictions for his upcoming match? State your thoughts in the comments below.