Khabib Nurmagomedov pens heartfelt note for Islam Makhachev as Dagestani fighter dethrones Jon Jones at the top of pound-for-pound rankings

UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev ascended to the top of the UFC pound-for-pound rankings for the first time in his career and was lauded by his longtime friend Khabib Nurmagomedov.

Makhachev completed his second successful title defense against featherweight king Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 294. An injury to the previous P4P leader Jon Jones and his subsequent withdrawal from his UFC 295 headliner allowed Makhachev to overtake him.

Nurmagomedov posted on Instagram immediately, congratulating Makhachev and reminiscing about their time spent together since childhood. He said:

"It's an unprecedented case when two fighters, raised from childhood by the same coach, in the same city, in the same gym, trained side-by-side for a long time - become singleweight champions in the best league in the world @ufc. And also both became the best fighters regardless of the weight category of their time. And believe me it's not a full stop, @islam_makhachev continues to make history..." [translation via Instagram]

Khabib Nurmagomedov also showed his gratitude to God and cautioned Islam Makhachev against taking any of the success for granted:

"Alhamdulillah for everything, sometimes things happen to us and we think we are so great, but wallahi it's all a test and test from Almighty and one day it can all vanish as if nothing happened. Be thankful and know that everything comes from the Almighty good and bad and all that brought you from above are historical facts unprecedented in this sport." [translation via Instagram]

Check out his post and complete caption below on Instagram:

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Israeli MMA fighter posts distasteful picture of missile inscribed with Khabib Nurmagomedov and others' names

Amidst the ongoing escalation of violence in the Gaza Strip by the Israeli forces and the loss of thousands of civilian lives, Khabib Nurmagomedov and other mixed martial artists have shown their support for the innocent Palestinians.

Haim Gozali, an Israeli MMA fighter who has previously competed in Bellator, posted a threatening and distasteful picture on his Instagram that showed an Israeli missile with the names of several Muslim fighters inscribed on it including Khabib Nurmagomedov, Khamzat Chimaev and Belal Muhammad.

Gozali has since taken down the post but not before he was widely criticized by fans for his racism.

"Haim Gozali—an MMA fighter known as "The Israeli Batman"—posted this picture on IG of a missile that he inscribed with the names of Muslim UFC fighters like Khabib Nurmagomedov, Khamzat Chimaev and Belal Muhammad. Caption reads "This from me to the 🐀""

Check out the picture below: