UFC legend Khabib Nurmagomedov goes to have his work lower out for him on January 18.
Whereas ‘The Eagle’ now not competes contained in the Octagon, battle followers can recurrently discover him cornering the likes of reigning light-weight world champion Islam Makhachev and his cousin, Umar Nurmagomedov, each of whom might be competing on the identical night time when the UFC returns to pay-per-view in 2025.
Emanating from the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles, the primary occasion of the night will see Makhachev put his 155-pound crown on the road towards the division’s top-ranked contender, Arman Tsarukyan.
Simply earlier than Makhachev enters the cage for his fourth light-weight title protection, Umar Nurmagomedov will problem bantamweight titleholder Merab Dvalishvili within the co-main occasion. Will probably be the Georgian’s first time defending the 135-pound belt since claiming it through a dominant choice win over ‘Sugar’ Sean O’Malley in September.
Throughout a latest interview with The Schmo, longtime Khabib Nurmagomedov coach and American Kickboxing Academy founder Javier Mendez expects it to be a mentally draining weekend for ‘The Eagle’ as he seems to steer each his fighters to the most important wins of their respective careers.
“It’s going to be really busy for him mentally because he has to deal with, you know, two of his brothers that he loves to death—one is his cousin, and one is Islam, who he’s been training with since childhood,” Mendez stated. “So for him, it’s going to be a ball of nerves.
“For me, it’s not that bad at all because I’m used to it now. I can go right through it—no problem. He’s going to be a wreck, though.”
Mendez says the whole lot is ‘on point’ forward of makhachev and nurmagomedov’s massive night time
Providing some perception into Makhachev and Nurmagomedov’s coaching forward of UFC 311, Mendez added:
“But things are great, things are fantastic. The training is fantastic. We’re on point, we’re on point. We have three more weeks of hard training, and then we’re off to Los Angeles. We’ll see what happens.”
Whereas Makhachev is already acquainted with the intense lights of a five-round title battle, it will likely be an unfamiliar feeling for Umar Nurmagomedov. The undefeated star secured his first shot at UFC gold with a formidable exhibiting towards Cory Sandhagen over the summer season. The win jumped him all the way in which as much as the No. 2 spot within the rankings, setting the stage for his showdown with ‘The Machine.’
Mixed, Makhachev and Nurmagomedov have received their final 32 fights.
