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Khabib Nurmagomedov is still getting in some solid gym time, despite retiring from active competition in October 2020.
In a new Instagram post, 'The Eagle' shared a photo from a training session with his two friends and teammates, Islam Makhachev and Zubaira Tukhugov.
He captioned the image:
"Grappling day. It was very good day with my Brothers."
In Russian, he added:
"So that your back does not hurt, fight every day."
Khabib Nurmagomedov has been busy in retirement, promoting the fighters on his team and his Eagle FC promotion. Most recently Nurmagomedov called out Dana White, demanding Islam Makhachev get the next shot at the UFC lightweight title and Charles Oliveira.
While that request seems to go against the UFC's plans to make Makhachev fight Beneil Dariush, pressure from other important individuals like Joe Rogan may make a difference.
On the Eagle FC front, Nurmagomedov will host Eagle FC 47 on May 20 in Miami, Florida. The event is headlined by former UFC heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos vs. Yorgan De Castro and features UFC vets Hector Lombard vs. Thiago Silva in the co-main.
Khabib Nurmagomedov shares his prediction for Islam Makhachev vs. Charles Oliveira
Khabib Nurmagomedov is convinced his star pupil Islam Makhachev is the man to beat champion without a belt Charles Oliveira. In a recent Instagram story, 'The Eagle' shared his prediction on how a fight between the two top lightweights would go. He wrote:
"My prediction is a maximum 3 rounds. No matter how good he is Islam is better than him. Just remember these words.”
The hardest part of the fight is getting Charles Oliveira vs. Islam Makhachev signed. It's never been easy for lightweights to lock in a UFC title shot. Tony Ferguson famously won thirteen fights in a row and only got to fight for an interim title. Islam Makhachev now holds ten wins in a row, but zero of them are over opponents ranked in the top ten of the division.
That's a big reason why the UFC seems so insistent that Makhachev fight No. 6 ranked Beneil Dariush before getting his shot at the title. However, with money being a big driver in prize fighting there's always a chance the UFC may heed Khabib Nurmagomedov's request and book Oliveira vs. Makhachev in Abu Dhabi this October.
