Josh Thomson shares never-heard-before story about Khabib Nurmagomedov from their earliest days at the AKA gym

Josh Thomson has told a fascinating story about Khabib Nurmagomedov that stems back to their early days at the American Kickboxing Academy gym.

Over the years, we’ve heard many legendary stories about Khabib Nurmagomedov. While he may now be retired from professional mixed martial arts, the story of “The Eagle” will continue to be told for many more decades.

Thomson is one of many who got to witness the greatness of Khabib Nurmagomedov from the ground level. In a recent interview, he gave fans an insight into what it was like to rub shoulders with the lightweight GOAT.

You can check out Thomson's interview here:

“I believe it was his 25th birthday, his birthday is the day before mine. We were in Chicago, I was cornering him for the Pat Healy fight I believe it was. I showed up and the restaurant was very good, like kebabs and hot bread. They had brought him out a cake because they knew who he was, so they brought him dessert and they were singing happy birthday. He knew it was also near my birthday so what he did was have the whole restaurant sing happy birthday to me as well! As a person, from then on we bonded and became friends," Thomson said.

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Khabib Nurmagomedov - a stand-up guy

Many remember Khabib Nurmgomedov as an absolute monster inside the cage. However, outside of it, he was known for being a pretty great guy to those he’s close with.

Now in his retirement chapter, Khabib Nurmagomedov continues to find success both in his business ventures and his coaching work. There are more and more fighters coming through the Dagestan region with each passing week. It isn't exactly going to be a shock when they inevitably have another champion in the UFC - or perhaps even another elite-level organization.

Josh Thomson, on the other hand, likely isn't the only AKA fighter who has great memories of their time with a man who changed the face of the lightweight division.