Abubakar Nurmagomedov with Khabib Nurmagomedov in his corner. (imago Images)
Abubakar Nurmagomedov is making waves in the MMA world but how is he related to Khabib?
One of the names in circulation recently is that of Abubakar Nurmagomedov. He has not had a fight in a while, but has gained significant popularity after Khabib Nurmagomedov posted a photo with him on Instagram.
There, ‘The Eagle’ mentions that he is now training him, and Usman Nurmagomedov and that they are ‘next in line’. And like Usman, Abubakar is also the cousin brother of the UFC lightweight champion.
Abubakar currently fights in the welterweight division of UFC. He comes out of Makhachkala in erstwhile Soviet Union, and like his brother Khabib, fights out of Dagestan, Russia.
The 1.82m long 31-year-old made waves in World Series of Fighting (WSOF) and PFL before ultimately landing a contract with UFC. And just like his cousin brother, Khabib, Abubakar trained in freestyle wrestling and joined Combat Sambo under Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov.
His fighting style is similar to that of Khabib. That is not to say that he matches the 32-year-old in skill and technique, but the two brothers are experts in wrestling. Before even making his UFC debut, he was already grabbing headlines in the promotion.
Abubakar was in Khabib’s corner at UFC 229 when the champion took on Conor McGregor for the lightweight championship. After the bell and Khabib’s victory, Abubakar, along with Khabib’s other teammates, charged at McGregor’s cornerman Dillon Danis.
It resulted in a violent breakout which saw McGregor hit Abubakar, and then confronted by two of Khabib’s teammates. You can see the carnage unfold in the video above.
Less than a year after that, Abubakar had his UFC debut inside the ring. It came on November 9, 2019, in a welterweight bout against David Zawada. The fight, which took place at UFC Fight Night 163, did not turn out like Abubakar hoped it would.
The Russian lost via submission in round 1 to Zawada. And since then, he is yet to fight. But with him now putting work in the gym with Khabib, he seems ready for his next fight, which is scheduled to take place on 28th March, 2021 at UFC 260.
Abubakar has an impressive professional MMA record. The Dagestani fighter has 15 wins to his name from 19 fights, with 3 losses and 1 draw. It would be interesting to see what he has to offer against Gooden, and that fight could be what decides his UFC future for him.
His first UFC fight didn’t go his way as he lost to David Zawada in September 2019. However, he is still
Abubakar’s opponent is American welterweight fighter Jared ‘Nite Train’ Gooden. Like Abubakar, the 27-year-old lost on his UFC debut as well. His defeat came at UFC 255 to Alan Jouban via decision.
It will be interesting to see if he rebounds with a win but he has been training with Khabib and The Eagle has ramped it all up.
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