Islam Makhachev's severe illness scare before major fight left even Khabib Nurmagomedov's father worried, reveals teammate

A teammate and training partner of Islam Makhachev recently opened up about a health issue that might have forced the reigning lightweight champion to withdraw from a significant bout in his early UFC career. The individual went on to disclose that Khabib Nurmagomedov's father was also concerned about Makhachev's health.

The person in question is Shamil Zavurov, who shared the details of Makhachev's health issue in a recent interview with Ushatayka. According to Zavurov, the 33-year-old, who is close friends with Nurmagomedov and a student of the late Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov, wasn't feeling well before his bout with Arman Tsarukyan at UFC Fight Night 149 in 2019.

While in the training camp for the fight against Tsarukyan, Zavurov noticed Khabib's father voicing his worries about Makhachev's health. Sharing details of a conversation between Makhachev and the late Abdulmanap, he said:

''I was the one who was warming Islam [Makhachev] up [for the fight] and the late Abdulmanap said to him, 'I don't like the way you look.' Islam was very pale. I was wrestling with Islam, getting him ready for the fight and he told me that he wasn't feeling good. But he was like, 'it's ok, when I'm in the cage, it will be better'. But he was really pale, I remember that. And after the fight, he ran back to the locker room and was throwing up for a good five minutes.''

Check out Shamil Zavurov's comments below:

Despite being unwell, Makhachev managed to defeat Tsarukyan via unanimous decision, displaying his tenacity.

The two are again on a collision course, as Makhachev is expected to make his fourth title defense against Tsarukyan at UFC 311, according to an Instagram post by Nurmagomedov MMA School.

In his most recent octagon appearance at UFC 302, Makhachev took on former interim champion Dustin Poirier and secured a fifth-round submission win. Meanwhile, Tsarukyan earned the No. 1 contender spot after defeating Charles Oliveira via split decision at UFC 300.

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Shamil Zavurov takes aim at Arman Tsarukyan

Islam Makhachev's training partner Shamil Zavurov, recently chastised Arman Tsarukyan for using events from their first UFC encounter to boost his ego.

In the aforementioned interview with Ushatayka, Zavurov poked fun at Tsarukyan while applauding Makhachev's performance, saying:

''Arman [Tsarukyan] has been hyping himself up a lot over the past 6 to 12 months, bringing up things from the past. But he didn’t show anything remarkable in that fight. He’s been acting like he gave Islam [Makhachev] his toughest fight—it wasn’t even close. Islam was feeling sick, even throwing up after the fight, and still managed to beat him with ease.”