"Come back, we have to keep training" - Khabib Nurmagomedov shares what his father used to say when he tried to get praise after UFC wins
Khabib Nurmagomedov recently joined Mike Tyson and co-host Henry Cejudo on an episode of Hotboxin' with Mike Tyson. Amidst other discussions, Khabib revealed details of the close bond he shared with his late father, Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov.
According to Khabib Nurmagomedov, his father immediately brought him back to the ground if he tried to fly high after a UFC victory. 'The Eagle' revealed that Abdulmanap would ask him to focus on getting back to training whenever Khabib called him fishing for compliments after a win. When asked about his source of inspiration, Khabib Nurmagomedov said:
"Hey, like, biggest inspiration for me, it was my dad. You know, it was my father. All my life, you know. I'm doing all these things because of him, only because of him. I remember when I fight, like some fights in UFC....I call him right away after the fight and I tried to get from him some good words, you know. And he begin to talk about my mistakes, what I make inside the fight. And I listen to him like two minutes and I say, 'Okay you don't wanna say nothing to me?' He say, 'It was good job, just come back, we have to keep training.'"
Watch the episode below:
Khabib Nurmagomedov's father's plan
Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov was a great visionary and is widely regarded as the pioneer of MMA in Russia. His son Khabib Nurmagomedov recently revealed that the legend had envisioned his UFC career back when they were still training in combat sambo.
While people didn't find the idea very convincing, his father's belief fueled Khabib's growth as a fighter. Speaking to Mike Tyson and Henry Cejudo, Khabib Nurmagomedov said:
"With him we knew like what we need, like what we want exactly. And since 2005, 2004 when I begin training combat sambo with father, we have that goal, you know, become UFC fighter. But that time nobody compete from Russia in the UFC and it was very hard to sign. Like when I signed at the end of 2011, it was almost impossible (to) sign with the UFC (for) someone from Russia. Not many people believe us but when I see how father belive me, how (he) really want this, this give me like crazy energy."