Khabib Nurmagomedov has revealed one attribute that distinguishes his team from others. According to Nurmagomedov, if fighters want to become champions and reach the peak of the sport, they must make significant sacrifices, just like he has in the past.
The first pay-per-view event of the year, UFC 311, will take place this weekend at Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California, and features three fighters from the Nurmagomedov clan. Reigning champion Islam Makhachev will headline the card in his fourth title defense against Arman Tsarukyan.
Undefeated contender Umar Nurmagomedov has the opportunity to become a champion when he challenges Merab Dvalishvili for the bantamweight title in the co-main event while Tagir Ulanbekov is set to take on Clayton Carpenter in a flyweight contest in the early prelims.
Nurmagomedov, who is set to corner his Dagestani teammates, recently spoke to ESPN MMA's Brett Okamoto ahead of UFC 311 and discussed his preparations for the upcoming matchups. 'The Eagle' remarked that sacrifices are what separates his squad from the others:
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''I can describe this in one word: all about sacrifice. People talk about discipline, but sometimes discipline is not enough. All about sacrifice. A couple of days ago, maybe one week ago, one guy he’s from Mexico, he trained with us. We allowed him to come... He comes to me, like, ‘In holidays, I want to go to Mexico.’ And I told him...'If you want to become the best, there is no family'... I just say, 'if you want to become best in this business, you have to sacrifice. Sacrifice your time, sacrifice your health, and sacrifice everything good you have'.''
Check out Khabib Nurmagomedov's comments below:
Khabib Nurmagomedov shares his experience coaching Islam Makhachev for Dustin Poirier at UFC 302
Khabib Nurmagomedov was in the corner for Islam Makhachev when the latter submitted Dustin Poirier at UFC 302 last year to successfully defend his lightweight title.
In the aforementioned ESPN MMA interview, Nurmagomedov stated that he preferred spending time in the octagon with Poirier when the two fought at UFC 242, rather than instructing Makhachev from outside the cage:
''Outside and inside cage? Inside was much better. When I was inside, I don't have to talk. Only [a] couple of times I talk [to him]... But when I was outside with Islam [Makhachev], like, almost [for] 25 minutes I was just talking. I cannot do nothing. I don't like this, to be honest. But it was an amazing fight. It was an amazing fight for fans. Amazing finish in the fifth round and very good experience for Islam."
Check out Khabib Nurmagomedov's comments below (10:16):