Khabib Nurmagomedov on the Challenges of Coaching Ahead of UFC 311

Former undisputed UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov has lifted the lid on his post-retirement role as a coach, and spoke about some of the challenges he’s been facing as he continues his career in MMA in a relatively new role.

Nurmagomedov reached the pinnacle of the sport when he captured the undisputed UFC lightweight title, and following the death of his father, coach and mentor Abdulmanap, Nurmagomedov called time on his career in 2020 at the age of 32, with a perfect record of 29 wins, no losses.

Now Nurmagomedov has moved into the role once occupied by his father, as he helps to mold the careers of his teammates, including UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev, bantamweight title challenger Umar Nurmagomedov, and flyweight contender Tagir Ulanbekov, all of whom he’s set to corner in their respective fights at UFC 311.

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It’s a big challenge for Khabib, who is still getting used to life on the other side of the cage as he helps guide his teammates through their careers as their coach and mentor. He admits the transition from fighter to coach has been a tough one to make, despite the wealth of experience he’s gained throughout his mixed martial arts career.

“I didn’t know it was going to be as hard as this,” he told ESPN’s Brett Okamoto.

“When I was fighting, it was more easy for me, because I was preparing myself when I go to the cage. When I go to the cage, I was fighting, I was controlling everything that was happening.

“But this life, like coaching life, it completely different than fighting life, because I just can only talk, I cannot do anything. I just can give my brothers advice and stay outside the cage. This is not what I am used to doing all my life. That’s why it’s like a little bit of a headache for me.”

Nurmagomedov said that he ended up coaching and cornering his teammates through a sense of responsibility to pass on everything he learned while training under his father.

“I learned from him a lot. And when I moved to the US, since 2012 I learned a lot from coach Javier (Mendez), too,” he said.

“Coaching, it’s become like step by step, like my lifestyle, because I learned a lot from the greatest coaches of all time, not only in our sport, I think, in any sport. And yeah, I learned from them a lot. And now I’m trying to share my knowledge with my brothers, because I learned a lot.

“I learned from these two great coaches. Now, I think I have so much knowledge, I have to be here, and I have to share with this knowledge with these fighters.”

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Nurmagomedov said that he feels compelled to be there for his teammates to help give them the best chance of success, but it’s not just because he wants to pass on the knowledge. It’s also because of the relationships and bonds that he’s built within his close-knit team in Dagestan over the last two decades.

“When I was on the way to becoming champion, when I was on the way to defend my titles, they were with me. Umar, Islam, Tagir (Ulanbekov) … they were with me. They were helping me. They were my sparring partners. They were my friends.

“For 18 years, we’ve traveled together and fought together in a lot of amateur sports, then we (went) professional. And (we’ve had) so many training camps together. It’s something amazing, you know? I don’t think people realize how close we are. I don’t think people realize how many years we’ve spent together – almost 20 years training together, pushing each other.”

Now established as the senior figure in his team, Nurmagomedov will lead the corner for three of his friends and teammates this weekend at UFC 311, with Ulanbekov set for action in the early prelims, his cousin Umar challenging for the bantamweight title in the co-main event, then lifelong friend Makhachev set to defend his lightweight title in the night’s headline bout.

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It means Nurmagomedov has a busy night on his hands on Saturday, and he admits it’ll be a tough evening as he looks to guide all three of his friends and teammates to victory on the first big UFC event of the year.

“It’s going to be difficult,” he admitted.

“I’m going to begin on the prelims with Tagir, then I’m gonna have, I think, a couple of hours to sleep. I will try!

“For sure, it’s gonna be a difficult night, because three opponents (are) all very competitive fighters, you know? Tagir’s opponent, Merab (Dvalishvili), Arman (Tsarukyan), they’re very high-level fighters, you know? I’m gonna be ready for this.”

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