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Khabib Nurmagomedov has been full of praise for the upcoming UFC lightweight contender Islam Makhachev.
Makhachev shares his Dagestani heritage with Khabib Nurmagomedov and also trains at Khabib’s gym AKA. Islam was also trained in his initial years by Khabib's father Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov.
Makhachev is on a six-fight win streak in the UFC and is set to take on former lightweight champion Rafel dos Anjos on November 14th at UFC Vegas 14. This will also be the first time that Islam is headlining the card.
To mark the occasion, Khabib took to Twitter to wish his childhood friend the best of luck in what is his biggest challenge yet in the UFC.
Khabib’s tweet translated to: “He will perform at the main event of the evening at UFC Vegas 14. Good luck, brother. Hands up and forward.”
Islam has been touted as the next big thing in the UFC lightweight division.
However, his outing against RDA will be anything but easy. RDA is a former UFC lightweight champion and has recorded wins over stars like Anthony Pettis, Donald Cerrone, Nate Diaz, Benson Hendeson among others.
His last four fights have been at welterweight with notable wins over Kevin Lee, Neil Magny, and former welterweight champion Robbie Lawler.
RDA is raring to go and will see Islam as a major hurdle in his quest to reconquer his lightweight crown in the UFC.
Khabib Nurmagomedov announced his retirement at UFC 254
Khabib Nurmagomedov had shocked the MMA community by announcing his retirement after submitting Justin Gaethje in the second round of UFC 254’s main event.
‘The Eagle’ cited that he had promised his mother that he will not fight again without his father Abdulmanap, who had passed away in July earlier in the year.
Khabib, however, is still cited as the UFC lightweight champion Dana White and is currently ranked No. 1 in the UFC pound-for-pound rankings.
Dana White has also publicly stated that he is in talks with Khabib Nurmagomedov to come back for one last fight in order to reach 30-0 in his MMA career, a dream which was envisioned by his father at the beginning of his MMA journey.
