Khabib Nurmagomedov treasures brotherhood and family over everything. He has always been a proponent of surrounding himself with good people and staying loyal to them. Well, according to his teammate, ‘The Eagle’ was willing to sacrifice $6 million in order to help his friend out. Team Nurmagomedov has expanded a lot now, with a lot of local Russian fighters trying to make it into the UFC. One such fighter was Zubaira Tukhugov.
The Russian fighter made it into the UFC, thanks to Khabib Nurmagomedov. Nurmagomedov had a lot of faith in his ability and backed him up.
Zubaira Tukhugov recently sat down for an interview with Aslanbek Badaev on YouTube. ‘Red Corner MMA’ on Instagram then translated the Russian interview into English, where Tukhugov spoke about Nurmagomedov’s act. He said,
“Dana White said that they had no room for me on that card (Abu Dhabi card)….But Khabib was like ‘Ok, I’m going to rip this contract up now’. I will give my spot on the card to Zubaira.”
According to Tukhugov, Khabib Nurmagomedov was willing to give up a reported $6 million contract at the UFC 242 just so his friend and teammate could fight on the same card as him. Well, when Nurmagomedov said “loyal is number one”, he truly did mean it. As it appears, ‘The Eagle’ is willing to go to any means to help his friends out.
Currently, the former champion is out of the game and barely comes into the limelight anymore. However, he still supports his teammates on social media, and right after his retirement, he even began coaching them.
Khabib Nurmagomedov helped teammates attain UFC glory
Khabib Nurmagomedov had a short stint as a coach immediately after his retirement. ‘The Eagle’ announced his retirement in March 2021, and 7 months later he took on the role of a coach.
UFC 267 took place in Abu Dhabi and ‘The Eagle’ was in the corner of three of his teammates, Tagir Ulanbekov, Zubaira Tukhugov, and Islam Makhachev.
All three fighters were training under the American Kickboxing Academy banner and everyone of them secured victories on the night. Unfortunately, Khabib’s stint as a coach did not last very long. In early 2023, he decided to retire completely from the sport.
‘The Eagle’ now supports his brother Umar Nuramagomedov and other fighters through social media, offering them support. He also trains alongside them but does not attend their fights anymore.
