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Khabib Nurmagomedov and Islam Makhachev are not biological brothers, but they share a brotherly bond between themselves. The two have been training together since childhood under the tutelage of Khabib's father, Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov.
Growing up together in Dagestan, Russia, Makhachev and Nurmagomedov became good friends over the years. Islam Makhachev was always a permanent fixture in Khabib Nurmagomedov's corner for most of his octagon outings. After Nurmagomedov's retirement, Makhachev became heir apparent to his dominance and ascended to the top of the lightweight division. 'The Eagle' has returned to corner his teammate for the UFC 294 title defence against Alexander Volkanovski.
During Khabib Nurmagomedov's title reign, Makhachev intentionally didn't make the push towards the top of the 155lb division because he wanted to avoid fighting his friend. Khabib's late father Abdulmanap also wanted Makhachev to claim the lightweight throne once his son was done fighting.
In an interview with RT Sport, VP of International Talent at Dominance MMA Management, Rizvan Magomedov, talked about the bond between Nurmagomedov and Makhachev.
“Well, I’m going to disclose some secrets to you now. The UFC used to not give Islam enough attention because they knew, if he had made it to the title shot, he wouldn’t fight Khabib. What if he eliminated all the top contenders and then refused to fight Khabib? They are not just friends, they are brothers. They have been training together for their entire lives. There’s no title in the world that can split them apart.” said Magomedov.
Throwback to the time when Islam Makhachev expressed the desire to be like Khabib Nurmagomedov
Due to notable similarities in their fighting styles, Islam Makhachev was often compared to Khabib Nurmagomedov while coming up.
Following his win over Thiago Moises at the UFC Vegas 31, Makhachev was asked if he felt the pressure of expectations when such comparisons were made. Islam Makhachev said:
"I wanna be like Khabib, you know. He is great man, you know. He's a champion, he have lot of money now, lot of everything, but he's still humble guy."
Watch Islam Makhachev make the statement from the 5:52 mark of the video below:
Fast forward to 2023, Islam Makhachev is slowly inching towards creating his own legacy as one of the greatest lightweights in history, if not 'the greatest'. He will rematch featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 294 event on October 21. A potential win over 'The Great' will be extremely consequential for Islam Makhachev's place in UFC history.
