Outside Source
Usman, Khabib, Islam Makhachev, Umar Nurmagomedov and their entire team, filled with elite fighters, were initially trained by Abdulmanap in the mountains of Dagestan.
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Abdulmanap later brought the team to the U.S. to train at American Kickboxing Academy under Javier Mendez. Khabib retired as undefeated Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight champion after the death of his father in 2020. “The Eagle” has since taken up the responsibility of guiding the team alongside Mendez.
Usman believes Khabib has fit into Abdulmanap’s role extremely well. The Professional Fighters League lightweight champion says his cousin Khabib knows exactly how much a fighter must be pushed in training. With the team being filled with champions from every major MMA promotion, one would expect that they would train adequately by themselves anyway. However, Usman knows from experience that everyone can push their limits a bit more when Khabib is around in training.
“I would compare Khabib’s role with our late Uncle Abdulmanap,” Usman told Red Corner MMA. “He always takes center stage, he gives assignments, he knows what a fighter should go through, and he knows how much a man should work out. Because when we train on our own -I know it from my own experience here and there – you may think you have done enough work, but when Khabib is next to you, with all his experience, he pushes us a bit more, he pushes us to your very limits.”
Usman Nurmagomedov highlights how Khabib’s coaching mirrors the lessons of Abdulmanap 👏
“I would compare Khabib’s role with Uncle Abdulmanap. He always takes center stage, he gives assignments, he knows what a fighter should go through, and he knows how much a man should work… pic.twitter.com/5g5F6uYKPp
— Red Corner MMA (@RedCorner_MMA) February 17, 2026
This article first appeared at Recent News on Sherdog.com
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