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Yet early on, his father Abdulmanap – a judo black belt, Ukrainian National Sambo champ, and National master of sports in freestyle wrestling – didn’t want a similar path for Khabib.
“My childhood was pretty normal,” said Khabib. “My father wanted me to study and I wanted to become a professional athlete. (Laughs) He and I always had a misunderstanding over this issue, but my father eventually realized that I had a gift for fighting and he started training me to become the world’s best in 2005.”
Three years later, Nurmagomedov was making his pro MMA debut, submitting Vusal Bayramov in the first round. But it was in 2010 that he realized he had the talent and drive to take things even further.
“I realized it when I won the Sambo world championship in 2010,” he said. “I started training much harder and started working towards my dream of becoming a UFC fighter.”
By 2012, he achieved that dream, and he has since won all four of his Octagon bouts, submitting Kamal Shalorus, knocking out Thiago Tavares, and decisioning Tibau and Trujillo. He trains out of the renowned AKA gym in San Jose, and after some understandable adjustments, he’s settled and ready for anything.
“It was hard living in the US at first,” he said. “However, my life consists of training, religion, sleep and meals. Following this principle, it’s easy to get used to anything.”
He’s also getting used to life in the UFC, where it’s not a bad thing to go out and ask for what you want. Case in point, his Twitter request for a bout with former two division champ BJ Penn.
“I have asked for a fight with BJ Penn but I have not received a response,” he said. “Perhaps they have different plans for him. I wanted to fight someone I watched on TV when I was younger. He is a legend.”
Someday, if things keep going the way they are for the unbeaten 24-year-old, he may be on the receiving end of similar requests from hungry up and comers. But for now, there’s still work to be done, and Nurmagomedov is more than willing to do it. So who’s next? He has no hesitation in continuing to reach for the top.
“If BJ is not available I would love to fight (TJ) Grant,” said Nurmagomedov of the number one contender from Canada recently forced to pull out of his UFC 164 bout with champion Benson Henderson due to injury. “If he feels that he is the next title contender let him prove it by beating me at UFC 165 (September 21) in his homeland.”
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