When teenage Khabib Nurmagomedov took on multiple street fights to save his cousin's back
Khabib Nurmagomedov grew up in the gritty mountainous region of Dagestan and was hardened by the harsh conditions and extreme mixed martial arts training from his father Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov.
The training certainly came in handy when Khabib Nurmagomedov made his foray into professional mixed martial arts and dominated in the UFC. But long before he was a professional fighter, Nurmagomedov used his skills to defend his cousin on the street.
In an interview, 'The Eagle' recounted an incident while growing up when he fought off an opponent and then bested another on behalf of his cousin. He said:
“One time my cousin fight in the street, he lose. And I go fight. I said, 'Now, you need fight with me.' 14 years or 15 years. And I fight with him and I beat this guy. And he say, 'Okay, his brother now fight with me.' [Oh he brought his brother?] Yes, this guy think I am tired. This guy think I am tired, I fight maybe four [or] five minutes with him, finish him, choke him. After he say, 'Hey, now you need fight with me.' Okay he come. I finish him too. I choke him.”
Check out his comments below:
Khabib Nurmagomedov had threatened to break his UFC contract if they fired his teammate
Khabib Nurmagomedov and his teammmates, many of whom are his cousins, share a strong camrarderie. They train together and many are dominant in their respective divisions.
After his blockbuster main event at UFC 229 against Conor McGregor, things went south as the victorious Nurmagomedov brawled with McGregor's teammate Dillon Danis. The Russian's teammates also joined in the brawl, with former UFC lightweight Zubaira Tukhugov in on the act too.
The UFC noted Tukhugov's assault of McGregor, but Nurmagomedov got on to Instagram to defend his 'brother'. He wrote:
"If you think that I'II keep silent then you are mistaken. You canceled Zubaira's fight and you want to dismiss him just because he hit Conor. But don't forget that it was Conor who had hit my another Brother FIRST, just check the video. if you decide to fire him, you should know that you'll lose me too. We never give up on our brothers in Russia and I will go to the end for my Brother. If you still decide to fire him, don't forget to send me my broken contract, otherwise I'II break it myself... We have defended our honor and this is the most important thing. We intend to go to the end."
Check out Khabib Nurmagomedov's full comments below:
Khabib’s Instagram post after UFC 229 is really something special
Directly told UFC if his teammate was cut then he’d leave too, this is real brotherhood & loyalty man. ❤️☝️ https://t.co/t48jpe90UI