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Khabib Nurmagomedov's longtime friend and mentor Shamil Zavurov came up short in his retirement fight at the EFC/AMC event hosted in memory of Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov.
Zavurov, 37, was stepping inside the cage for the final time in his career. In the last minute of round one, the Dagestani was sent to the canvas by his opponent Nariman Abbasov.
Zavurov was one of the instrumental figures who helped Khabib Nurmagomedov hone his skills during his teenage years. The duo would always train together and 'The Eagle' has repeatedly talked about the impact Zavurov had in the early days of his career.
In Zavurov's retirement fight, Khabib Nurmagomedov was sitting cageside. As the bout progressed further, the former UFC lightweight champ grew anxious watching his teammate struggle.
'The Eagle' screamed his heart out, trying to help Zavurov scramble out of trouble, but to no avail.
Watch his reaction in the video below uploaded to YouTube by Faded MMA Society (from the three-minute mark):
Although Zavurov started aggressively, he found himself on the backfoot after Abbasov connected with a couple of clean overhand rights. Abbasov continued pressuring and landed a big right hook behind Zavurov's ear. The shot dropped the 37-year-old to the ground and the Dagestani was finished soon after.
Watch the full fight below:
"When you wrestle him, he never stops" - Khabib Nurmagomedov on Shamil Zavurov
Shamil Zavurov has 13 knockout wins under his belt. However, he's predominantly a wrestler. Throwing light on Zavurov's exceptional skills on the mat, Khabib Nurmagomedov said the following before the retirement fight:
"Shamil himself doesn't go easy on anyone. When you wrestle him, he never stops, he will keep pushing you. So if you train with Shamil, you have to be fully ready... I know myself from personal experience. We go all out, you can't have an easy wrestling session with him... When you wrestle with Shamil, it's never easy. But I'm a bit heavier now and he is cutting weight, so I've been avoiding wrestling with him to prevent injuries. The guys who weigh less, wrestle him."
In his 17-year-long career, Zavurov competed in 48 professional MMA fights, winning 40 of them. He is also a three-time Combat Sambo world champion.
