Usman Nurmagomedov: Khabib Nurmagomedov not cornering Islam Makhachev at UFC 294
Despite many fans believing that he retired from mixed martial arts prematurely, Khabib Nurmagomedov is widely considered to be one of the greatest fighters of all time. He appeared to be on his way to becoming a legendary coach as well before the UFC Hall of Famer retired from coaching in January 2023 to focus on his family.
While he has retired from mixed martial arts altogether, Islam Makhachev recently shared photos of himself and his longtime friend and training partner in the gym ahead of his UFC 294 title defense against Charles Oliveira. The UFC lightweight champion captioned the post:
"The head coach join the training camp, nothing changed just sweating much more 💦"
Check out Makhachev's Instagram post below:
Although his caption led to speculation that 'The Eagle' could return to coaching, his cousin Usman Nurmagomedov suggested that is not the case. Following his Bellator 300 title defense, the Bellator lightweight champion stated:
"He's not going to be corner[ing] Islam. He just train for the - always training. He just come to Dubai, training, stay with these guys. This is very good energy, you know, but how I know he's not coming back. He's not corner. He's not coach, too. But he pushes all the time. When he's in the gym, he pushes everybody."
Check out Usman Nurmagomedov's comments on Khabib Nurmagomedov coaching Islam Makhachev below:
While Makhachev's post led to excitement amongst fans that the former lightweight champion would return to the sport, it appears that is not the case. Nurmagomedov will likely continue to help those close to him prepare for fights, however, his return to the octagon, in any capacity, appears unlikely.
Islam Makhachev previously revealed Khabib Nurmagomedov will not corner him at UFC 294
Islam Makhachev recently shared photos of himself training with Khabib Nurmagomedov leading fans to speculate that the UFC Hall of Famer would corner him at UFC 294.
Despite this, the UFC lightweight champion had previously revealed 'The Eagle' would not be in his corner while speaking with Brett Okamoto of ESPN, stating:
"He will come tomorrow. We waiting for him. Yeah, tomorrow he will come to Dubai to join with us in the camp. He’s gonna be here. He’s not gonna be my corner of course, but he will be here to help. We have couple more guys gonna fight [in] other organizations here in Abu Dhabi... I don’t know fight day where he’s gonna be but next two weeks he’s gonna be here with us."
Check out Islam Makhachev's comments on Khabib Nurmagomedov (starting at the 16:48 mark):
While Nurmagomedov will not be in Makhachev's corner, it is clear that he is helping to prepare him for the bout. The latter will look to defend his lightweight title against Charles Oliveira at UFC 294 in just under two weeks.