Khabib Nurmagomedov is celebrating another big victory for his team and family.
Earlier this month, ‘The Eagle’ watched on as Islam Makhachev submitted Renato Moicano to defend the lightweight title he used to hold at UFC 311. Unfortunately, things didn’t go quite as well for his cousin, Umar Nurmagomedov, who lost to Merab Dvalishvili in their bantamweight title fight co-headliner.
Usman Nurmagomedov got the famous fighting family back in the win column on Saturday night.
The Bellator lightweight titleholder defended his belt with a majority decision win over Paul Hughes at PFL Champions Series 1 – but there have been plenty of complaints about the scorecards, with Conor McGregor the most famous protestor of them all.
Khabib Nurmagomedov sends cousin message after title defense
Amid all the noise, Khabib Nurmagomedov penned a proud social media message to his little cousin.
The UFC Hall of Famer congratulated Usman on his third successful title defense before predicting he will get better and better as he continues to test himself on the biggest stage, against the best opponents.
“Congratulations Brother @usman_nurmagomedov on another successful title defense, you have done a great job in the big arena over the past couple of years, and of course a great job at the hall in your life,” Khabib wrote alongside an old family photo on Instagram.
“You’re going to show the world a lot of mixed martial arts and you’re only disperse and you still continue to learn and get stronger with each fight.”
“Keep working harder, the further – the harder your opponents will be.”
Khabib Nurmagomedov invites Paul Hughes to Dagestan
Nurmagomedov moved to end talk of a Dagestan vs Ireland beef after PFL’s latest event.
The 29-0 Russian phenom invited Hughes to travel from Northern Ireland to spend time with his team.
“Thank you for the fight @paulhughesmma and for the experience,” Khabib tweeted.
“I invite you and your whole team and family to Dagestan, any time you want, believe me you will like it and your arrival will serve as a good example for many young generations.”
Hughes accepted the invite on one condition that would delay his trip as he chases a rematch with Usman.
“Thank you, Khabib. I have great respect for you, your team and your nation,” Hughes wrote on X.
“I would be honoured to take you up on this offer someday and then return the favour in Ireland… But please, only after I get to rematch Usman.”
A rematch won’t happen anytime soon if the champion gets his wish. Usman claimed that Hughes would need to win up to five fights before he is granted a second shot at his title.