Islam Makhachev has spoken out in support of his close friend Umar Nurmagomedov after he suffered his first defeat on Saturday night.
While Makhachev was backstage preparing for his record-breaking win over Renato Moicano in the main event of UFC 311, he had one eye on the night’s penultimate fight. There, his teammate was struggling to a decision loss against Merab Dvalishvili in his shot at bantamweight gold.
But he has backed the 29-year-old, whose cousin and coach is the legendary Khabib Nurmagomedov, to be back and win the belt in a later effort.
- Who is Islam Makhachev? Step inside the life of the pound-for-pound best fighter on the planet
Islam Makhachev sends message of support to Umar Nurmagomedov after UFC 311
While he didn’t let it outwardly effect his performance, Islam Makhachev has admitted that he found it difficult to watch from backstage as Umar Nurmagomedov was comfortably beaten. He managed to still run out a quick winner over Moicano, but noted how tough it was at the post-fight press conference.
“Honestly, it was hard,” Makhachev said. “I try to warm up, but I still watch the fights. Maybe it did make me a little bit sad, but Umar is still young and still hungry. He has time. Because he’s still young, he made some mistakes in this fight and Merab did his job very well.
“And they had a close fight. Umar not take some damage and he landed good shots. He also broke his arm also. One hundred percent he will come back because he’s still hungry, and he’s going to be UFC champion one day, I’m sure.”
Umar Nurmagomedov opens up about Merab Dvalishvili defeat after UFC 311
In the aftermath of his loss, Nurmagomedov was all class as he spoke to Joe Rogan in the octagon, vowing to return better. And he has since made a detailed statement regarding the result and admitting that he has no excuses.
“There are no excuses,” he wrote. “InshaAllah I will become the champion, the rest is not important. Praise be to Allah in any situation.”
He refused to even accept ‘defeat’, despite having lost the actual fight itself, adding: “And I don’t think I’ve lost this battle. If even the whole world will convince me otherwise. Deal with the injuries and get back on.”
- Who is Dana White? All you need to know about the CEO and President of the UFC