Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov: Was Khabib's dad a professional fighter?

Best known for his coaching laurels, Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov was not a professional fighter.

Nurmagomedov pulled off his coaching career with flying colors, having trained a handful of athletes in sambo and mixed-martial-arts, who would eventually go on to become world champions in their respective sports. However, he didn't build upon his short competitive career.

The legendary Russian coach forged his own legacy which will continue to stay afloat for many years, thanks to his remarkable achievements.

Born in 1962 in the Tsumadinsky district of Dagestan, Nurmagomedov always had a knack for participating in wrestling competitions. At the age of eight, he was introduced to wrestling and soon commenced his sports career with freestyle wrestling. However, Nurmagomedov started serving in the Russian army at the age of 19, before subsequently shifting his attention to judo and sambo.

Although Nurmagomedov managed to win several regional wrestling and judo tournaments, he ultimately put his competitive career to a halt and embarked upon his coaching stint in 1987.

Nurmagomedov started training his brother, Nurmagomed, and the latter ended up winning the World Sambo Championship for Ukraine in 1992. This would be his first major success as a coach.

Following that, he launched his own gym, called 'Manapov school', from where several of his students excelled in different combat sports.

Such is his legacy, that Nurmagomedov has gotten as far as finding himself in the Russian Book of Records for training 18 athletes who became world champions in sambo.

Some of the biggest honors under Nurmagomedov's belt include the accolade of 'Master of Sports', which is a title in the Russian Federation. He was honored with the aformentioned award for his exemplary coaching career in freestyle wrestling. He was also an honored coach of Russia and the senior coach of the Republic of Dagestan's sambo national team.

Who has Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov trained?

Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov's most successful pupil is none other than his son Khabib Nurmagomedov. 'The Eagle' switched to training in MMA from Sambo, under the guidance of his father, and went on to achieve an astonishing win-streak of 29-0.

Unmatched. Undisputed. Undefeated.We saw the final step of Father's Plan at UFC 254 as @TeamKhabib bowed out at the top of the mountain. For now.#Bestof2020pic.twitter.com/3f58eJxem8

— UFC on BT Sport (@btsportufc) December 29, 2020

Islam Makhachev is another notable figure to have been trained by Nurmagomedov. The 29-year-old currently competes in UFC and is ranked No.13 in the promotion's Lightweight division.

Check the latest UFC rankings here.

Some other athletes who received training from Nurmagomedov include Sultan Aliev, Magomedrasul Khasbulaev, Shamil Zavurov, and Khabib's cousin, Abubakar Nurmagomedov.