UFC alum urges fighters to refine coach search, cites Khabib Nurmagomedov and Ryan Hall as elite specialists: "Go out and train with them"

Khabib Nurmagomedov and Ryan Hall are the kind of elite practitioners that growth-minded fighters should be seeking out training with, according to a former UFC veteran. The individual who said this was a tournament finalist on the inaugural season of The Ultimate Fighter as well as a multi-division UFC title challenger.

Kenny Florian discussed this topic recently as one of the titular figures of The Anik & Florian Podcast. After stating that there are so many coaches out there where you can go to them and find what you're looking for, Florian said,

"Meaning if I want to get better with my takedowns and control, then maybe I'm gonna give Khabib Nurmagomedov a call. If I want to get good with my leg locks, maybe I'm gonna give Ryan Hall a call.

"Find who the specialists are that are out there and go out and train with them. Learn from the best, guys that are the best in their fields in that little, specific modality or area. Go out and learn from them."

Check out Florian's sentiments towards Nurmagomedov and Hall below:

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Former Khabib Nurmagomedov opponent desires a fight with his protege Islam Makhachev

Khabib Nurmagomedov was recently referenced by a former interim UFC lightweight champion as one of his toughest opponents to date. This combatant now desires to gain a measure of revenge against the reigning lightweight titleholder who is mentored by Nurmagomedov.

Khabib Nurmagomedov retired from the sport after besting the individual in question, Justin Gaethje, to defend his 155-pound crown for the final time. That was Oct. 2020, though, and nowadays, Nurmagomedov's protege Islam Makhachev is the titleholder who now holds the record for most championship defenses in lightweight history at four straight.

That being said, Gaethje is keen to clash with the Dagestan standout. This was expressed on a recent YouTube Q&A where Justin Gaethje stated,

"I wanna fight [Islam] Makhachev.... I do believe that's a better matchup for me than Khabib [Nurmagomedov]."

Before any traction can be gained toward a fight with the native of Russia, Gaethje has his next in-cage assignment already locked in. Gaethje aims to return to the win column following his emphatic knockout loss to Max Holloway at UFC 300 by taking on another proven, action-intensive fighter in the lightweight ranks.

Gaethje will collide with Dan Hooker at UFC 313 on Mar. 8 and a win for the former BMF champion over the number six-ranked Hooker could behoove him in terms of carving out his desired path to Makhachev.