Belal Muhammad
We take a look at Dagestan basketball which was made famous by Khabib Nurmagodeov and crew
Dagestan basketball was made famous by Khabib Nurmagomedov and crew during one of the episodes of Anatomy of a Fighter. A rugged version of a highly competitive sport, Dagestan basketball has Russian written all over it. Gruelling, physically challenging, and high-paced, MMA fans were shocked to see ‘The Eagle’ indulge in the unusual version of the sport.
In traditional basketball, a player needs to bounce the ball against the floor continuously using one hand at a time. I he uses both hands simultaneously to dribble or touches the ball twice before it bounces once constitutes a double dribble violation, which ends in ceding possession to the opponent team.
Dagestan basketball has eliminated the bounce rule completely. Instead, players wrestle each other, take each other down, and try to win the ball physically, quite literally.
The game looks like basketball fused with American football. The players score by netting in the basket, similar to a traditional basketball game. Khabib had claimed that the sport is a good warm-up drill.
Belal Muhammad will face Sean Brady, the upcoming welterweight prospect at UFC 280. Muhammad is on a brilliant 7-fight win streak and has been rallying for a shot at the welterweight crown.
He is currently in Abu Dhabi, and shared images of him training under the watchful eye of former lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov. Muhammad captioned the post:
Muhammad also engaged in a game of Dagestan basketball, and he clearly had enough in maiden try-out. He posted tweet saying:
“First taste of Dagestani basketball today … i want to go back to regular nba basketball please”
When a fan asked him for the video, Muhammad said that a full video will soon be released on his YouTube channel:
“YouTube page coming soon lol”
More MMA news
Follow our dedicated MMA page for instant MMA news and updates