Khabib Nurmagomedov claims it's time for cousin Umar to shine in the UFC
Khabib Nurmagomedov's time in the Octagon is up. 'The Eagle' hung up his fighting gloves after his last outing at UFC 254, where he defeated Justin Gaethje with a second-round submission.
Khabib is now paving the way for the newer crop of talent to make their way to the top. He has an MMA academy in his home country Dagestan named after his late father, Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov.
Among the several fighters Khabib Nurmagomedov is mentoring is his cousin Umar Nurmagomedov.
Khabib Nurmagomedov praises cousin Umar Nurmagomedov
Khabib Nurmagomedov posted a picture of him training with his cousin Umar Nurmagomedov on Instagram.
The caption said:
"Nothing has changed, the younger generation must grow."
Umar Nurmagomedov in the UFC
For the lesser-known Nurmagomedov in the sport, a UFC debut has been somewhat jinxed over the past few months.
Umar Nurmagomedov was set to debut at UFC 249 against Hunter Azure, but that fight was cancelled as he had to pull out due to COVID-19 restrictions. Umar had to withdraw once again from a fight against Nathaniel Wood at UFC on ESPN 14 owing to the demise of his uncle and Khabib's father, Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov.
Umar was finally set to debut in the same card as Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 254, where he was slated to go up against Sergey Morozov. But once again, luck was not on his side.
Russian news site TASS was the first to report that Umar Nurmagomedov had been hospitalized with "severe flu, fever, and vomiting". Khabib Nurmagomedov later confirmed the news on social media.
Khabib said that Umar already had fever because of a staph infection while staying in the hotel. Although their team was confident he would be able to take part in the fight, the infection worsened right before their flight to Abu Dhabi, where UFC 254 took place at the Flash Forum on Yas Island.
Umar Nurmagomedov was hospitalized in Dubai.
"The last few days, Umar has been in a hotel with a high fever, which was caused by a staphylococcal infection. But despite this, he and our entire team were determined that he would perform on October 24th. This morning, before our flight to Abu Dhabi, he got worse and was hospitalized in Dubai. Get well brother, so it was meant to be."
Umar Nurmagomedov is a former Bantamweight Champion for the Gorilla Fighting Championship. He is yet to be beaten in his MMA career just like his cousin Khabib, and is on a 12-0 winning streak.