Nurmagomedov's headdress. Khabib Nurmagomedov: “In America they don’t know us as Caucasians, they call everyone Russian. Personal life of Khabib Nurmagomedov

On December 30, 29-year-old Khabib Nurmagomedov became a father for the second time. The news of the birth of a son appeared on the eve of Khabib’s fight with Brazilian MMA fighter Edson Barbosa in Las Vegas as part of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). The Eagles MMA club announced this on its Instagram page: “The president of the Eagles MMA club just gave birth to a son.”

The Nurmagomedov couple already raised a daughter, who was born in June 2015. The birth of his son was a real gift to the fighter before the most important fight, in which he won a brilliant victory.

Khabib Nurmagomedov got married in 2013. The athlete’s chosen one was his fellow countryman, a native of Dagestan. Nurmagomedov prefers not to talk about his family in public. According to him, his wife is not with him during long preparations for battles abroad, as she can distract him from his goal. “You shouldn't think about anything else if you want to achieve something. You just have to train, sleep and eat. There must be a regime in everything, and my wife will wait at home and pray for me,” he explained.

At Khabib Nurmagomedov’s wedding, the wife’s face was hidden by a burqa, which only fueled interest in her person. Amusing misinformation was once published by the American mixed martial arts website mmaimports. “The face of Khabib Nurmagomedov’s wife has been revealed and she is beautiful!” - with this headline an article was published, accompanied by a joint photograph of the famous athlete with the TV presenter of the Dom-2 project, Olga Buzova. The authors of the article mistook the Russian showwoman for Nurmagomedov’s wife.

Fans associate the athlete’s desire to hide his wife’s appearance with compliance with Sharia law. However, Khabib enters the ring wearing only sports shorts, as required by UFC standards.

We wish the Nurmagomedov family happiness and prosperity! The site “Women of the Caucasus” warmly congratulates Khabib and his wife on the birth of their son!

How did you study at school?

I finished six classes with excellent marks. And then I realized that I found myself more in sports. And there was also a moment in the early 2000s, when we were taught using textbooks from the 90s, I asked the teacher why we were studying according to a system that was 15 years old? Is it history or geometry? Then I also realized that my future was more in sports.

If not sports, what would you do in life?

Now I’m thinking about it, because the career of a professional fighter is not long. You can’t be at the peak all the time, people change, maximum 5-6 years... One comes, another goes. And then we need to do something. I haven’t come to one thing yet. I want to benefit others.

Are you more of a striker or a wrestler?

I come from a wrestling background and I'm more of a fighter. Well, I hit it a little bit.

Khabib, you had a series of injuries. How do you assess your condition now and what is your readiness to join the fight?

I myself have now started almost 100% training. I run, do sparring, lift. I think my systematic preparation will begin on February 1st. I thought that the injuries would constantly recur and that’s why it was hard.

What do you consider to be the most serious injury in your career?

There were a lot of them, but I think it was a torn cruciate ligament. I tore them on July 5, 2014. At that time, I didn’t think or know that this injury would take you out of sports for so long. I had surgery and was told I would be back in 9 months. But I could see myself in the octagon only after another six months. Because the leg does not return to its previous state so quickly after such a serious injury. And in general, 15 years ago, in the 2000s, no one returned to sports after such injuries. The first such player was footballer Ronaldo, when he tore his cruciate ligaments in the final. He came back and won the world championship. It was also a medical breakthrough back then. Medicine used rehabilitation on a player after a ligament rupture.

I think 15 years have passed and medicine has changed too. In April, when I fight, it will be two years since my injury.

What do you do to avoid getting sick in training while preparing for a fight?

Very good question. Especially when you get into shape, a lot of vitamins leave your body, and you can easily get sick. If you took a cool shower or drank cold water, you could immediately catch a cold. As soon as you get sick, count 2-3 days before you come to your senses, and then a week has passed. And you can’t explain this to your opponent in the octagon.

Just as much as you train hard, your job is to take care of your body. We are very careful about this, since we drink a lot of water before, during and after training, also when we are losing weight, and cool water can make you sick. Because of this, we drink water at room temperature, dress warmly, and especially keep our feet warm, because they cause major illnesses.

Even when preparing for a fight, I always sleep in a hat. Sleep is considered the best vitamin, and there is no substitute for it. During your 24-hour preparation, you should sleep 10 hours and train for 5-6 hours.

Will you be competing at the UFC anniversary tournament?

No matter how I perform in April, I think that I will not be able to take part in the anniversary tournament. When I asked for the UFC, I didn’t think about the fact that Ramadan begins in June, the eighth of Eid al-Fitr and the ninth of UFC 200. We’ll probably watch it on TV. So we will fight in April, and after Ramadan we will have another fight.

How many kilograms do you lose before a fight, and do you lose strength?

I lose 16-17 kilograms. The power is lost, of course it is lost. It feels like there is no power. But you have to lose weight because your opponent is also losing it. And I don’t think that my opponent has more strength when cutting weight. Therefore, almost everything is on equal terms.

Are you planning to move to another weight category?

I have this thought all the time. I’ve been thinking about this for the last five years, because losing weight is a very difficult thing. But every time the UFC gives you a lightweight opponent, you forget about the other weight. In the future, I would like to try myself. In sparring, in training, I’m already trying to work with average weight, and it will be interesting! I want to try it myself, but not this year. This year I will remain lightweight.

How do you lose weight and then gain it back again without losing muscle mass?

Weight loss is a rather long process and takes about two months. Everything is going step by step. We mostly go on a diet, drink a lot of water, go to bed on time and eat only healthy food - mostly fruits and vegetables, little meat and little bread, we don’t eat chocolate or ice cream. We exclude salt and sugar from food. This is a very difficult process and even if you tell us everything, not everyone will be able to adhere to it, because it needs to be implemented in their lives. We need a competent person nearby who will build a routine - when to sleep, get up, eat. When you're on a diet, it's very important to stick to the routine.

After weight loss, you also need to go on a diet, you can’t eat everything. Every three hours you need to eat fruits and vegetables, a little meat, a little chocolate somewhere. You must restore all the properties that the body has lost. Now we have ruled out the drip, but we used to recover well from it. It will be hard without her.

What do you think about before a fight, and what thoughts come to you during the fight?

I hope in the Almighty. One blow can decide everything. There are thoughts that you can lose, and there are such options too. But I don’t particularly allow these thoughts and remember how hard I trained, and that a lot of people will watch my fight. I know that my opponent is coming out to beat me.

The environment is very important in this matter. The last time I fought was a year and a half ago. My uncle was in my corner; my father didn’t have a visa back then. He himself became the world champion in sambo in 1992. I felt then that he was next to me and was giving me some kind of energy. Therefore, it is important to be around those people with whom you feel comfortable.

I know many examples when there seems to be a team, but there is no team spirit. It is believed that sport is when you go one on one. And this doesn’t seem to be a team sport, but I don’t think so. I believe it is a team sport. You prepare and you have sparring partners, coaches and a head coach. The opponent is preparing in the same way. Consider it team versus team.

There is no such atmosphere in Russia. You can feel the team spirit when you go to the UFC and Romero comes into the gym with about ten people with him. This is a whole team - massage therapists, nutritionists, sparring partners, friends, corners. Also other famous fighters.

This is a team sport and a lot depends on the people who surround you.

I was asked a question about the meaning of religion. Of course, religion plays a big role. If a person believes in God, he is balanced and understands that sport is not the most important thing. There are more important moments in life. Because of this, you take things more calmly. And when you go out to fight, your brain is not occupied with unnecessary things. And if you have faith and a team nearby, then everything works out well.

This time a nutritionist, a massage therapist and other sparring partners will come with me. This means that this time we will take our sparring partners with us to America. They already have a visa and the guys with whom we have worked for the last 10 years will work with me.

What techniques do you consider the most effective during a fight?

Passed. Picked it up. Quit. (laughs)

Would you like to go out with Conor McGregor and how much would it cost you to knock him out?

I think soon, insha Allah.

In 4 seconds?

What you say for 4 seconds is probably taken from the video, right? It was just translated incorrectly in the video. Then my English was so broken, you might say. I then said “for me need”, and I needed to say “I have to smash”, which means “you’ll have to beat him”, and the translator heard that I said four minutes. We cannot know who will win whom, at what minute, only the Almighty can know the result.

Because of this moment, the video went viral, but these are not my words. I had thoughts that if it went to my weight, then I would have to win it. And yes, I would love to smear it.

We all know how they treat the Caucasus in Russia, but what is the idea of ​​the Caucasus in America and how do they treat Caucasians?

In Russia, everyone knows that I am from the Caucasus and they treat me very well. It depends on the person, it makes no difference whether you are Caucasian or Russian. How you present yourself is how they will treat you. Those guys who behave badly are treated the same way. But in America they don’t know us as Caucasians, they call everyone Russian. For them there is no difference whether you are Yakovlev or Nurmagomedov.

What is the reaction from Americans when you take the field?

When we fight with the Americans, they don’t like it, because they know that any of our fighters and all the Caucasians who go from Russia to America fight very well and put up serious opposition.

I think that the Americans who are there are betting money on these fights. This business is built on the fact that a lot of bets are made. They are a patriotic people, even more patriotic than ours. When there is a choice to bet on an American and a Russian, they, rooting for their own, may lose their own money. Of course they don't like this. I think they are a little offended by us.

The famous T-shirt “If Sambo was easy, it would be called Jiu-Jitsu”, is this also your attempt to get into the heads of the Brazilians and how did they react to it?

No. At that moment, I wanted to show that I was a sambo wrestler and defended my idea. My opinion is that combat sambo is better than jiu-jitsu for MMA.

My opponent had a black belt in combat jiu-jitsu, and I was a world champion in combat sambo and we met in MMA as a professional sport. I just wanted to let him know before the fight that there would be competition. Why hide it if it already exists.

After that, we were advised not to order food in the room, because they could be poisoned. Therefore, I had more security with me, and when I went out to fight, a lot of people surrounded me.

Before this fight, I went to the UFC twice, and there were two commission members, but this time there were six. I asked why there was so much, and they told me that I overdid it at the weigh-in.

What was your most memorable fight in the UFC?

The most I remember was my debut fight when I fought Kamal Shalorus. At that time, there had been no Russian fighters in the UFC for more than 10 years. A lot of experts, fans, coaches and people watched, wanted to find out and determine from my performance what level Russian MMA is at. I won the fight ahead of schedule and I remember this fight very well.

How does your father motivate you before a fight?

Mostly scolds. There are no praises. Even after the fight he gives little praise. On the contrary, it motivates me; I don’t like being consoled. That's not mine. I'm self-critical myself. And I love it when people criticize me, pointing out my mistakes, and I try to work on it. The very fact that my father is nearby as a coach is already a very big motivation.

Khabib, when will you bring the UFC belt to Russia?

I will try insha Allah this year.

Do you play the UFC game?

Only with yourself! I only take myself. I don’t play against McGregor, it seems he’s not at 70 kg?

A few days ago they included those who were not there.

I did not know. If I had known, I would have knocked him out. Next time I will.

Khabib, say a few words about Albert Tumenov.

He had a bad start, and he lost the start. He had a good ending, he won five fights in a row. The best welterweight in Russia at the moment. Very good chances. You can put him against any striker and you will get a very good fight. This is one of my favorite fighters.

Do you think McGregor behaves this way on purpose, provoking his rivals, as for example with Aldo it turned out that he came out angry and got caught? Or is McGregor like this in real life?

I don't think he's like that in real life. It seems to me that this is part of one of his plans for the fight, to get into his opponent’s head. After all, we have never seen Aldo respond to his opponents. Remember when Aldo gave the finger to McGregor in Brazil at a press conference. There are many moments that he did not do, but when McGregor appeared, he began to do it.

But McGregor has been behaving this way all his life, and we can say that Aldo fought on his territory. I think it got into his head and during the fight you could see that Aldo was pinned down. When he stood near the cage, I saw that the fighters had different moods. McGregor managed to carry out his plan.

How did the story of the fight with the Diazs in America end?

They ran away, we didn’t catch up with them.

Did you notice that he is giving the finger in the photo? Or did he hook you with a word?

He didn't show his finger. It is not true. I don't know what he was showing there, but we fought for a different reason. The photograph had nothing to do with it at all. His friend said something and he supported it. Then my leg started to hurt and when he started to run away, I realized that I wouldn’t catch up with him.

In that situation, the police grabbed us and took us away. We had a serious fight, but I think this is unacceptable when you are performing at a good level. There were especially many women and children there; I didn’t want to fight. It could have been decided differently, but since he started, and I’m a sambo wrestler, I had to use self-defense.

How did it happen that you got into a fight?

Where men are, when they argue, there are fights. Anything can happen. But athletes, unlike ordinary people, must be able to control themselves and set the right example. And we have no right to fight in the street, it is punishable.

In America people generally go to prison for this. I believe that the same should be done in Russia. Because when you are a professional fighter, you can easily kill a person by using your strength. You train and just like a knife, a gun, your hands are edged weapons. When you practice punches and throws in the gym all day long, you can cause very serious injuries to a person and make him disabled.

But self-defense is welcomed in all countries and it is legal. I didn’t start a fight then, he started and I had to defend myself.

JANUARY 29. KCR.While staying with his team in Karachay-Cherkessia, the famous Russian UFC lightweight Khabib Nurmagomedov (22-0) shared how he moved to the Octagon from school. Khabib spoke about the fight with the Diaz brothers and gave the athletes advice for career growth. He also warned professional fighters against fighting in the streets, considering this unacceptable.

- How did you study at school? - I finished six classes with excellent marks. And then I realized that I found myself more in sports. And there was also a moment in the early 2000s, when we were taught using textbooks from the 90s, I asked the teacher why we were studying according to a system that was 15 years old? Is it history or geometry? Then I also realized that my future was more in sports.

- If not sports, then what would you do in life? - Now I’m thinking about it, because the career of a professional fighter is not long. You can’t be at the peak all the time, people change, maximum 5-6 years... One comes, another goes. And then we need to do something. I haven’t come to one thing yet. I want to benefit others.

-Are you more of a drummer or a wrestler? - I have a wrestling background and I’m more of a fighter. Well, I hit it a little bit.

- Khabib, you had a series of injuries. How do you assess your condition now and what is your readiness to join the fight?

I myself have now started almost 100% training. I run, do sparring, lift. I think my systematic preparation will begin on February 1st. I thought that the injuries would constantly recur and that’s why it was hard.

- What injury do you consider the most serious in your career?

There were a lot of them, but I think it was a torn cruciate ligament. I tore them on July 5, 2014. At that time, I didn’t think or know that this injury would take you out of sports for so long. I had surgery and was told I would be back in 9 months. But I could see myself in the octagon only after another six months. Because the leg does not return to its previous state so quickly after such a serious injury. And in general, 15 years ago, in the 2000s, no one returned to sports after such injuries. The first such player was footballer Ronaldo, when he tore his cruciate ligaments in the final. He came back and won the world championship. It was also a medical breakthrough back then. Medicine used rehabilitation on a player after a ligament rupture. I think 15 years have passed and medicine has changed too. In April, when I fight, it will be two years since my injury.

- What do you do to avoid getting sick during training while preparing for a fight?

Very good question. Especially when you get into shape, a lot of vitamins leave your body, and you can easily get sick. If you took a cool shower or drank cold water, you could immediately catch a cold.

As soon as you get sick, count 2-3 days before you come to your senses, and then a week has passed. And you can’t explain this to your opponent in the octagon. Just as much as you train hard, your job is to take care of your body. We are very careful about this, since we drink a lot of water before, during and after training, also when we are losing weight, and cool water can make you sick. Because of this, we drink water at room temperature, dress warmly, and especially keep our feet warm, because they cause major illnesses. Even when preparing for a fight, I always sleep in a hat. Sleep is considered the best vitamin, and there is no substitute for it.

During your 24-hour preparation, you should sleep 10 hours and train for 5-6 hours.

- Will you compete at the UFC anniversary tournament?

No matter how I perform in April, I think that I will not be able to take part in the anniversary tournament. When I asked for the UFC, I didn’t think about the fact that Ramadan begins in June, the eighth of Eid al-Fitr and the ninth of UFC 200. We’ll probably watch it on TV. So we will fight in April, and after Ramadan we will have another fight.

- How many kilograms do you lose before a fight, and do you lose strength?

I lose 16-17 kilograms. The power is lost, of course it is lost. It feels like there is no power. But you have to lose weight because your opponent is also losing it. And I don’t think that my opponent has more strength when cutting weight. Therefore, almost everything is on equal terms.

- Are you planning to move to another weight category?

I have this thought all the time. I’ve been thinking about this for the last five years, because losing weight is a very difficult thing. But every time the UFC gives you a lightweight opponent, you forget about the other weight. In the future, I would like to try myself. In sparring, in training, I’m already trying to work with average weight, and it will be interesting! I want to try it myself, but not this year. This year I will remain lightweight.

- How do you lose weight and then gain it back again so that there is no loss of muscle mass?

Weight loss is a rather long process and takes about two months. Everything is going step by step. We mostly go on a diet, drink a lot of water, go to bed on time and eat only healthy food - mostly fruits and vegetables, little meat and little bread, we don’t eat chocolate or ice cream.

We exclude salt and sugar from food. This is a very difficult process and even if you tell us everything, not everyone will be able to adhere to it, because it needs to be implemented in their lives. We need a competent person nearby who will build a routine - when to sleep, get up, eat.

When you're on a diet, it's very important to stick to the routine. After weight loss, you also need to go on a diet, you can’t eat everything. Every three hours you need to eat fruits and vegetables, a little meat, a little chocolate somewhere. You must restore all the properties that the body has lost.

Now we have ruled out the drip, but we used to recover well from it. It will be hard without her.

- What do you think about before a fight, and what thoughts come to you during the fight?

I hope in the Almighty. One blow can decide everything. There are thoughts that you can lose, and there are such options too. But I don’t particularly allow these thoughts and remember how hard I trained, and that a lot of people will watch my fight. I know that my opponent is coming out to beat me.

The environment is very important in this matter. The last time I fought was a year and a half ago. My uncle was in my corner; my father didn’t have a visa back then.

He himself became the world champion in sambo in 1992. I felt then that he was next to me and was giving me some kind of energy. Therefore, it is important to be around those people with whom you feel comfortable. I know many examples when there seems to be a team, but there is no team spirit. It is believed that sport is when you go one on one. And this doesn’t seem to be a team sport, but I don’t think so.

I believe it is a team sport. You prepare and you have sparring partners, coaches and a head coach. The opponent is preparing in the same way. Consider it team versus team. There is no such atmosphere in Russia. You can feel the team spirit when you go to the UFC and Romero comes into the gym with about ten people with him. This is a whole team - massage therapists, nutritionists, sparring partners, friends, corners. Also other famous fighters. This is a team sport and a lot depends on the people who surround you. I was asked a question about the meaning of religion. Of course, religion plays a big role.

If a person believes in God, he is balanced and understands that sport is not the most important thing. There are more important moments in life. Because of this, you take things more calmly. And when you go out to fight, your brain is not occupied with unnecessary things.

And if you have faith and a team nearby, then everything works out well. This time a nutritionist, a massage therapist and other sparring partners will come with me. This means that this time we will take our sparring partners with us to America. They already have a visa and the guys with whom we have worked for the last 10 years will work with me.

- What techniques do you consider the most effective during a fight?

Passed. Picked it up. Quit. (laughs)

- Khabib, who do you want to fight with?

Now there are a couple of options. I think so, if not for the belt, then Pettis would be a good fight because he is a former champion and he has a big name. Otherwise, at most I would like to fight with Diez. I would like to give him a hard time.

- Would you like to go out with Conor McGregor and how much would it take you to knock him out?

I think soon, insha Allah.

- In 4 seconds?

What you say for 4 seconds is probably taken from the video, right? It was just translated incorrectly in the video. Then my English was so broken, you might say. I then said “for me need”, but I needed to say “I have to smash”, which means “you’ll have to beat him”, and the translator heard that I smashed four minutes. We cannot know who will win whom, at what minute, only the Almighty can know the result. Because of this moment, the video went viral, but these are not my words. I had thoughts that if it went to my weight, then I would have to win it. And yes, I would love to smear it.

We all know how they treat the Caucasus in Russia, but what is the idea of ​​the Caucasus in America and how do they treat Caucasians?

In Russia, everyone knows that I am from the Caucasus and they treat me very well. It depends on the person, it makes no difference whether you are Caucasian or Russian. How you present yourself is how they will treat you. Those guys who behave badly are treated the same way. But in America they don’t know us as Caucasians, they call everyone Russian. For them there is no difference whether you are Yakovlev or Nurmagomedov.

- What is the reaction of the Americans when you take the field?

When we fight with the Americans, they don’t like it, because they know that any of our fighters and all the Caucasians who go from Russia to America fight very well and put up serious opposition. I think that the Americans who are there are betting money on these fights. This business is built on the fact that a lot of bets are made.

They are a patriotic people, even more patriotic than ours. When there is a choice to bet on an American or a Russian, they, rooting for their own, may lose their own money. Of course they don't like this. I think they are a little offended by us.

The famous T-shirt “If Sambo were weak, it would be Jiu-Jitsu”, is this also your attempt to get into the heads of the Brazilians and how did they react to it?

No. At that moment, I wanted to show that I was a sambo wrestler and defended my idea. My opinion is that combat sambo is better than jiu-jitsu for MMA. My opponent had a black belt in combat jiu-jitsu, and I was a world champion in combat sambo and we met in MMA as a professional sport.

I just wanted to let him know before the fight that there would be competition. Why hide it if it already exists. After that, we were advised not to order food in the room, because they could be poisoned. Therefore, I had more security with me, and when I went out to fight, a lot of people surrounded me. Before this fight, I went to the UFC twice, and there were two commission members, but this time there were six. I asked why there was so much, and they told me that I overdid it at the weigh-in.

- What was your most memorable fight in the UFC?

The most I remember was my debut fight when I fought Kamal Shalorus. At that time, there had been no Russian fighters in the UFC for more than 10 years. A lot of experts, fans, coaches and people watched, wanted to find out and determine from my performance what level Russian MMA is at. I won the fight ahead of schedule and I remember this fight very well.

- How does your father motivate you before the fight?

Mostly scolds. There are no praises.

Even after the fight he gives little praise. When the guy asked a question, I hoped that my father would praise me, but he never did. On the contrary, it motivates me; I don’t like being consoled. That's not mine. I'm self-critical myself. And I love it when people criticize me, pointing out my mistakes, and I try to work on it. The very fact that my father is nearby as a coach is already a very big motivation.

- Khabib, when will you bring the UFC belt to Russia? -

I will try insha Allah this year.

- Do you play the UFC game?

Only with yourself! I only take myself. I don’t play against McGregor, it seems he’s not at 70 kg?

- A few days ago they included those who were not there.

I did not know. If I had known, I would have knocked him out. Next time I will.

- Khabib, say a few words about Albert Tumenov.

He had a bad start, and he lost the start. He had a good ending, he won five fights in a row. The best welterweight in Russia at the moment. Very good chances. You can put him against any striker and you will get a very good fight. This is one of my favorite fighters.

Do you think McGregor behaves this way on purpose, provoking his rivals, as for example with Aldo it turned out that he came out angry and got caught? Or is McGregor like this in real life?

I don't think he's like that in real life. It seems to me that this is part of one of his plans for the fight, to get into his opponent’s head. After all, we have never seen Aldo respond to his opponents.

Remember when Aldo gave the finger to McGregor in Brazil at a press conference. There are many moments that he did not do, but when McGregor appeared, he began to do it. But McGregor has been behaving this way all his life, and we can say that Aldo fought on his territory. I think it got into his head and during the fight it was clear that Aldo clamped When he stood near the cage, I saw that the fighters had different moods. McGregor managed to carry out his plan.

- How did the story with the fight with the Dies in America end?

They ran away, we didn’t catch up with them.

-Did you notice that he is showing his finger in the photo? Or did he hook you with a word?

He didn't show his finger. It is not true. I don't know what he was showing there, but we fought for a different reason. The photograph had nothing to do with it at all. His friend said something and he supported it. Then my leg started to hurt and when he started to run away, I realized that I wouldn’t catch up with him. In that situation, the police grabbed us and took us away. We had a serious fight, but I think this is unacceptable when you are performing at a good level. There were especially many women and children there; I didn’t want to fight. It could have been decided differently, but since he started, and I’m a sambo wrestler, I had to use self-defense.

- How did it happen that you got into a fight?

Where men are, when they argue, there are fights. Anything can happen. But athletes, unlike ordinary people, must be able to control themselves and set the right example. And we have no right to fight in the street, it is punishable. In America people generally go to prison for this.

I believe that the same should be done in Russia. Because when you are a professional fighter, you can easily kill a person by using your strength. You train and just like a knife, a gun, your hands are edged weapons. When you practice punches and throws in the gym all day long, you can cause very serious injuries to a person and make him disabled. But self-defense is welcomed in all countries and it is legal. I didn’t start a fight then, he started and I had to defend myself.

The father and mentor of top Russian UFC lightweight Khabib Nurmagomedov, Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov, also answered several questions.

What are you doing to develop the Khabib brand, and is the story with the papakha a coincidence or did you deliberately come up with this image to make it memorable?

For the Caucasians, for our mountaineers, if you look back 200-300 years, the hat served as an indispensable attribute of clothing for the defenders of the homeland and family hearth. It was in these hats that soldiers came out to defend their homeland. This is our national headdress and this is the first. The second thing we have is the eagle - a symbol of the Dagestan coat of arms and our region is called the eagle region. 6-7 years ago, a very competent and intelligent historian told us that everything should come from our ancestors. We must be recognized by our history. And it worked.

- When Khabib was growing up and training, did he have any basic qualities that others did not have?

When I recruited students for myself, I took the majority according to their pedigree - a person, his father and grandfather. And by their last names I knew where the wrestling line was, where the runners were, where the weightlifters could be good, it was already in their blood.

People are endowed with different qualities, some already manifest themselves during their first training, while others acquire it over the years. And Khabib’s endurance, it seems to me, comes from me, my grandfather and other ancestors. I just started running a hundred meters. Very weak... But in four years I never lost to anyone.

- What role does the religious factor play in the development of champions in battle?

I think it's the main one. I have a lot of students with hooligan discipline; not everyone follows the regime. Even at training camps when exercise is at 7 a.m., the guys can show up at 7-10.

I imagine active recreation like this: take a walk, walk in the park, watch a movie, go to bed early. And they imagine making more noise, more with girls, going to nightclubs. And the question of religion, if a person is brought up this way, then without any concern for me, he himself complies with all the norms and I don’t even worry about him.

Childhood and adolescence

It is not surprising that both Khabib and his younger brother Abubakar followed in the footsteps of eminent relatives and became interested in wrestling from an early age. Their first coach was their father, who almost from the cradle prepared his sons for the fighting ring. At the age of three, Khabib began to master basic wrestling elements, and at five he was already on the mat.

When the boy turned ten, the family moved to Makhachkala. There, my father had the opportunity to recruit his own group of young talented athletes, including Khabib.

Until he was fifteen, he was not particularly different from other boys: he went to school, regularly attended training, and often fought with street kids. At some point, Khabib wanted to get a job as a security guard to earn money, but the whole family opposed it.

Sport, his father said, is also work, and hard work, and a professional athlete should not think about how to earn a living, otherwise he will never reach the top.

His idols were also sambists - Fedor Emelianenko, Rustam Khabilov, Rustam Mukhtarov, whose skills he continues to admire to this day. The talented fighter was able to learn something from each of them, and thanks to the efforts of his father, who gave him excellent initial training and instilled self-confidence, Khabib’s sports career confidently soared upward.

Sports achievements and fights

Khabib was able to confidently knock out and defeat the strongest opponents, such as Gleison Tibau (July 2012), Kamal Shalorus (January 2012), Thiago Tavares (January 2013), using his “trademark” choke technique.

Fight between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Gleison Tibau

The years 2014-15 were not easy for the athlete: he received several serious injuries and was out of action, although he retained his undefeated status. In 2016, he triumphantly returned to the ring, confidently defeating Darrell Horcher.

The fight with Michael Johnson finally confirmed the high level of training of the Russian wrestler: the American underestimated his opponent and was defeated in the third round. The referee was forced to stop the fight because Khabib used a painful hold - Johnson could not even ask for the fight to be stopped.

The fight between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson was disrupted several times. They were supposed to meet in the ring in the summer of 2014, but the plans were thwarted by the Russian’s injury. In April 2016, the meeting did not take place due to Ferguson’s injury. The fight was postponed to March 2017 - and again failed: before the weigh-in, Khabib was hospitalized with suspected kidney stones.

There was a lot of hype surrounding the fight between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor, the brash Irishman nicknamed "unreal". Immediately after defeating Michael Johnson, before leaving the ring, Nurmagomedov challenged him to a fight, calling him an “Irish chicken.” McGregor did not engage in trash talk, but hinted that Nurmagomedov still needed to earn a fight with him. However, in the summer of 2017 he changed his mind. While preparing with all his might for a fight against boxer Floyd Mayweather (and according to boxing rules), he nevertheless expressed his desire to fight his offender in Russia. Khabib later said in an interview that the likelihood of their meeting in December 2017 is very high.

However, on December 30, 2017, Nurmagomedov met in the ring not with McGregor, but with Edson Barbosa, a wrestler from Rio de Janeiro. The father of the Russian athlete noted that Barbosa is an excellent striker, but by the second round “everything will fall into place.” And so it happened, and Khabib’s advantage was obvious already in the first round. In the third round, the Brazilian, who bravely stood until the end, fell, and Nurmagomedov was counted as the 9th victory in the UFC and the 25th in his entire sports career.

Fight between Narmagomedov and Barbosa. Best moments

The fight with McGregor, which did take place on October 6, 2018, ended in victory for the Dagestani. In the first round, Khabib had the advantage, using his signature fighting grip. The Irishman lay on the floor for almost all of 5 minutes. The second round was also led by Nurmagomedov. In the third round, the fighters met in a standing position, McGregor struck several blows to his opponent, but it was clear that he was exhausted.

The fourth round was the final: Khabib applied a choke, and Conor surrendered.

On April 7, 2018, Khabib was supposed to finally meet Tony Ferguson in the ring, but the fight was canceled again. This time it was Tony's fault - he was injured. Nurmagomedov learned that Al Iaquinta would enter the ring against him instead of Ferguson the day before the fight. The fight ended in Nurmagomedov’s victory (although Al survived all 5 rounds, and Khabib was unable to finish the fight early) and the athlete was awarded the lightweight champion belt. Thus, he became the first Russian MMA fighter to win the UFC championship title.

Personal life of Khabib Nurmagomedov

Khabib Nurmagomedov is a Russian mixed-style fighter who has many victories in serious fights behind him. He holds the titles of Russian champion, two-time world champion, and European champion. Khabib became the first Russian to win the UFC mixed martial arts title. The athlete has only victories and not a single defeat. Today he is one of the most successful fighters in Russia and the hope of all of Dagestan.

Childhood and youth

Nurmagomedov was born in the Dagestan village of Sildi on September 20, 1988. He is a native Avar by nationality. Many of Khabib’s relatives, including his father, who became his son’s coach, are professional wrestlers.

Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov, Khabib’s father, became the champion of Ukraine in the distant 90s, and his uncle Nurmagomed Nurmagomedov at one time received the title of world champion in sports sambo. There are also relatives on the maternal side who hold the titles of masters of sports in wrestling.

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Khabib Nurmagomedov as a child with his cousin

The boy began training at the age of 5. His younger brother Abubakar, who later also became a professional athlete, was constantly present with him during training.

When Khabib was 12 years old, the family moved to Makhachkala, where his father continued his activities with young people, organizing a sports camp for talented teenagers. The young man’s coach during this period was Saidakhmed Magomedov, who trained the boys in freestyle wrestling. Over the course of several years, the future champion learned the techniques of judo, combat sambo and other types of martial arts.

Sport

At the age of 20, the young athlete enters the big ring for the first time. Over the course of 3 years of competition, Khabib received 15 winner's awards, becoming the champion of Russia, Europe and the world in a short time. He worked under an agreement with sports companies ProFC, TFC and M-1 in the light weight category (Khabib’s weight is 70 kg and his height is 178 cm).

The American organization UFC invites a talented Avar to its ranks. This turn of events in the biography of Khabib Nurmagomedov brought him to the world level of fame. For the first time in UFC history, the youngest fighter of the club enters the ring: Khabib was 23 years old at the time of his debut in UFC competitions.

One after another, the best fighters of our time fall at his feet: Brazilians Gleison Tibau, Thiago Tavares, American Pat Healy. Khabib Nurmagomedov's rating on the UFC list is beginning to grow rapidly, and now he is already in 4th place among all athletes in the organization.

Review of the fight between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor

In the fall of 2016, a fight between Khabib and one of the strongest fighters in the club took place. During the fight, the Russian used a painful technique, which led him to victory. After the fight, a meeting took place between Nurmagomedov and the UFC leader, whom the Dagestani began to provoke. A fight almost broke out between the fighters: Khabib was eager for a fight with the Irishman.

MMA fighter Nurmagomedov became the first Russian to win the UFC mixed martial arts tournament title. This happened after his victory over American Al Iaquinta in April 2018.

On October 7, 2018, the meeting of the year took place between Conor and Khabib, which ended with the victory of the Russian after a choke hold in the 4th round. The fight became the highest-grossing fight in MMA history at that time. According to experts, Nurmagomedov’s fee ranged from $1 million and above. Immediately after the fight, Nurmagomedov attacked the Irishman’s coach, which provoked a massive fight between the parties.

As a result, Khabib defended his champion title, but they refused to solemnly present him with the belt, citing the Russian’s indecent behavior. Conor suffered the fourth defeat in his professional career. The victory over the Irishman moved Khabib to 2nd place from 8th in the ranking of the best UFC fighters.

Personal life

Little is known about Khabib Nurmagomedov’s personal life. A true Muslim hides information about his family and wife. It is only known that the fighter is married. Even in " Instagram“In the joint photos from the wedding, the bride’s face is not visible; it is hidden under a thick wedding burqa.