Islam Makhachev joins Khabib Nurmagomedov in paying tribute to the victims of harrowing Azerbaijan Airlines plane crash

Reigning UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev and his mentor, UFC legend Khabib Nurmagomedov, recently sent out their words of solace and solidarity to the families of the victims of the Azerbaijan airline plane crash.

Recently, Azerbaijani Airlines flight J2-8243 carrying 67 passengers crashed in the southwestern region of Kazakhstan, killing 38 on board while 29 people reportedly survived. The plane was traveling from the Azerbaijani capital of Baku to Chechnya before it had to make an emergency landing about three kilometers from Aktau, Kazakhstan.

Makhachev and Nurmagomedov, posted the same image on their Instagram stories, with the copy that said [Translated]:

"We belong to Allah and to Him we shall return."

It continued:

"Condolences to the brother regions. Patience and strength to the families of those who were killed in the Baku-Grozny plane crash. A speedy recovery to the victims!"

Check out the Instagram stories below:

Islam Makhachev and Khabib Nurmagomedov's Instagram stories. [Screenshots courtesy: @khabib_nurmagomedov, @islam_makhachev on Instagram]

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Javier Mendez says Islam Makhachev was the only one who could beat Khabib Nurmagomedov during training sessions

Islam Makhachev and Khabib Nurmagomedov are more than just teammates - they're brothers for life. Starting their training as boys under the guidance of Nurmagomedov's late father Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov, the two Dagestani warriors rose through the ranks together.

They're fiercely competitive in the octagon but more so in the training room when they're sharpening each other's weapons. The results speak for themselves as Nurmagomedov became the champion and retired undefeated, barely losing any rounds in his UFC tenure. Makhachev succeeded him, winning the belt shortly after his friend and mentor retired.

Providing an insight into how competitive Makhachev and Nurmagomedov were in their training at the American Kickboxing Academy, head coach Javier Mendez told Submission Radio on YouTube:

“In all of history since 2012 since Khabib has been sparring with me, in front of my eyes, there has been nobody that has taken a round from him. No one has ever won a sparring session against him, not a sparring session ever, except one man, Islam. He is the only one that has won rounds from Khabib. Never won a session, but he has won rounds. And I have never seen that.”

Check out Javier Mendez's comments below (6:57):