Ahead of his third Bellator lightweight title defense, Usman Nurmagomedov has named his MMA GOAT which has surprised fans.
On January 25, Usman Nurmagomedov defends his lightweight title against Irish star, Paul Hughes in another grudge match between Russia and Ireland.
Ahead of his title fight against ‘Big News’, tensions have risen between the two after Nurmagomedov’s cousin and coach, Khabib Nurmagomedov slammed the state of Irish MMA, which subsequently reignited his feud with Conor McGregor.
Usman Nurmagomedov names Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov his MMA GOAT
With Russia continuing to grow in dominance in the MMA world, most of that success is down to the late, Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov, father of Khabib.
The former Eagles MMA coach mentored several champions throughout his time as a head coach, putting Eagles MMA on the map, and was able to compete with the gym giants, American Top Team, Team Alpha Male, and many more.
Abdulmanap coached both Khabib and Islam Makhachev to become UFC lightweight champions and also had a significant impact on the careers of both Usman and Umar Nurmagomedov.
The legendary coach, unfortunately, passed away in 2020 after COVID-19 complications, which subsequently led to Khabib’s retirement from MMA and transition to become a coach himself.
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The GOAT debate in MMA is one that is argued by fans around the world with the likes of Jon Jones, Khabib, Anderson Silva, and Georges St-Pierre being favored in the debate.
Despite that, ahead of his title defense on January 25, Usman has named Abdulmanap as the GOAT of MMA.
“My opinion, as to who is the best fighter of all time, it is Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov,” the undefeated Russian told CBS Sports.
“He made us. He was not only a coach, he was a competitor too, in judo, wrestling, everything. He made the whole team. He made us. I don’t have any competition with my brothers. This is (other) people’s deal.
“But for me, one of the best, it’s my uncle, it’s my older brother, Umar, it’s Islam, it’s Khabib. All of these guys are better than me,” he continued.
Usman Nurmagomedov threatens to ‘smash’ Conor McGregor
As always, Khabib will be part of his corner team for his fight against Hughes on January 25. And with that, Hughes extended an offer to McGregor for him to be part of his corner team, across from his enemy, Khabib.
McGregor told Hughes that if things kick off, he’ll be there to back up his fellow Irishman, however, this hasn’t phased the Bellator lightweight champion who has claimed he will fight McGregor too if he needs to.
“Doesn’t matter (if McGregor shows up). Even if Conor will come to the cage, I can smash both these guys. I don’t care,” Nurmagomedov told Brian Campbell in an interview.