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ONE Championship newcomer Saygid Izagakhmaev is a fighter everyone is looking forward to seeing in the upcoming ONE: Heavy Hitters event. The main reason for that is the fact the Degestani fighter is mentored and coached by none other than Khabib Nurmagomedov.
The undefeated former UFC lightweight champion sees Izagakhmaev as a brother and long-time compatriot. The 170-pound wrestler grew up learning from Khabib's father, the late Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov, and exemplifies the same wrestling game as 'The Eagle'.
Since his abrupt retirement in 2020, Khabib has had a remarkable run as an MMA coach. 'The Eagle' has been in the corner of his countryman and teammate Islam Makhachev, as well as his cousins Umar Nurmagomedov, Usman Nurmagomedov and Abubakar Nurmagomedov.
Come ONE: Heavy Hitters, we'll see the presence of the UFC legend for the first time inside the ONE Championship Circle. Khabib will corner Izagakhmaev in his debut bout against James Nakashima.
In a video released by Khabib's YouTube channel, we see the dynamic of him and Izagakhmaev in the cage. The fight was part of a cross-promotion event hosted by Khabib's Eagle Fighting Championship and AMC Fight Nights in memory of the former UFC champion's father Abdulmanap.
Cornering together with Islam Makhachev, Khabib injects a sense of urgency on his teammate as he may have lost the first round. The strategy worked as Izagakhmaev got the submission win in the second.
Watch the video here:
Saygid Izagakhmaev will make his ONE Championship debut at ONE: Heavy Hitters
On January 14, ONE Championship will start 2022 with a bang. The event, ONE: Heavy Hitters, will be filled with explosive bouts contested in Muay Thai, kickboxing and MMA.
One of the fights we're looking forward to is the aforementioned ONE debut of Saygid Izagakhmaev. His opponent will be the gifted American wrestler James Nakashima.
Nakashima may have the advantage on the feet as the ONE Championship vet showed punching power against the likes of Yushin Okami. As for grappling, however, that's where things can get interesting.
The flavor of wrestling from the Caucasus region of Russia is widely different from the likes of American amateur wrestling. It would be interesting to see Izagakhmaev try out his wrestling prowess against an equally skillful wrestler in Nakashima.
