Khabib Nurmagomedov expressed confidence in his cousin Umar Nurmagomedov’s strong comeback, pointing to Islam Makhachev as an example. The UFC Hall of Famer noted how Makhachev bounced back from a loss to secure an impressive win streak before capturing the lightweight gold.Nurmagomedov was in Umar’s corner at the Intuit Dome, where the 29-year-old challenged Merab Dvalishvili for the bantamweight title in the co-main event of UFC 311. Both fighters delivered an entertaining bout for the Inglewood crowd. However, after five rounds of intense action, Umar suffered a unanimous decision loss, the first defeat of his professional career.In a recent Q&A session with fans in New York City, Nurmagomedov stated Umar will reach the pinnacle of the sport just like Makhachev did:''On high level, who can become pound-for-pound (number one)? I really believe Umar can be there too. Umar’s situation right now, he’s dealing with a loss but, in 2015, Islam was in the same position, today’s 2025 and he’s the best fighter on the earth.''He added:''18th of October, he’s gonna fight in Vancouver, it will be a five round fight. We will see how he’s gonna deal with this. I don’t know, I don’t know because his name is Umar, my name is Khabib and we are completely different humans but we will see the way how we’re gonna deal with his loss.''Check out Khabib Nurmagomedov's comments below:Umar was riding on a six-fight win streak in the UFC before losing to Dvalishvili earlier this year. He is now expected to make his octagon return in a bantamweight bout against Mario Bautista on Oct. 18, headlining a Fight Night card in Vancouver, Canada.Khabib Nurmagomedov believes his protege will retire soonIn the aforementioned conversation, Khabib Nurmagomedov revealed that Islam Makhachev plans to retire from MMA within the next one or two years. Notably, the former lightweight kingpin is aiming to become a two-division champion by defeating Jack Della Maddalena in a rumored matchup in November.''Islam maybe, my honest opinion, one and a half, two years because [his] age in October is going to be 34. Nobody is going to be [the] same. When time comes, they don't ask what's your name. Of course, I finish when I was 32...But when you become 35, you need to stop doing this because leave this sport for young guys. When you become 35 and you don’t finish, somebody is going to finish you. Why? It’s better to finish.''