Watch: Khabib Nurmagomedov gives standing ovation to UFC 272 headliner between Colby Covington and Jorge Masvidal

Khabib Nurmagomedov [left], Colby Covington, [center], Jorge Masvidal [right]
Khabib Nurmagomedov [left], Colby Covington, [center], Jorge Masvidal [right]

Khabib Nurmagomedov seemed to love what he witnessed between Colby Covington and Jorge Masvidal at UFC 272.

The former UFC lightweight champion watched the fights with Kamaru Usman and Islam Makhachev for company. Judging by his reaction at the end of the main event, Nurmagomedov was entertained with how the bout went down.

Being a world-class wrestler himself, 'The Eagle' acknowledged the superb wrestling of Covington, who dominated Masvidal on the ground. As the final bell rang, ESPN caught Khabib Nurmagomedov giving the pair a standing ovation.

Watch Nurmagomedov's UFC 272 main event reaction below:

The fight itself was a domination from Covington, save for a moment in the fourth round when 'Gamebred' clipped him with a right hand and briefly sat him down. However, Covington's wrestling and ground and pound attack eventually prevailed and he was declared the winner via unanimous decision.


Khabib Nurmagomedov lost it after his cousin Umar Nurmagomedov beat his opponent at UFC 272

Apart from watching the main event, Khabib Nurmagomedov was in attendance at UFC 272 to coach his cousin Umar Nurmagomedov. The 26-year-old fought in the early prelims of the event and finished his opponent, Brian Kelleher, in the very first round.

It was a lopsided fight as Umar put the pressure on the American from the get-go. Kelleher failed to find any rhythm in the standup and succumbed to the Russian's ground game. At 3:15 of the first round, Umar stopped Kelleher via a rear-naked choke.

'The Eagle' was with AKA head coach Javier Mendez at cageside to give instructions to Umar. His reaction after his cousin choked out Kelleher was epic.

Watch Khabib Nurmagomedov go wild after Umar's stunning first-round victory below:

Umar has now extended his unbeaten MMA record to 14-0. He made his UFC debut in January 2021, where he stopped Sergey Morozov via a rear-naked choke.

After Umar's first UFC win, 'The Eagle' laid out what his cousin needed to do to become an all-time great in the sport. In an interview with RT Sport last year, he said (translated by MMA Fighting):

“Everything should come together at the very top of your potential just by the moment you will have the biggest fight of your career - your physique, your mentality, and your most important fight. That’s when you are set to make history. He is still very young now.”

Watch Nurmagomedov talk about Umar below:

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