At a crossroads: how the death of a father can affect Khabib Nurmagomedov’s career

The death of Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov was a real blow to the MMA community. Over his many years of coaching career, he has trained many Russian sambo and freestyle wrestling champions, as well as several mixed martial arts stars. Of course, the main of his students was the son of Habib, the first of the Russians to win the title of UFC absolute champion. Therefore, it is not surprising that the departure of a specialist from life was a shock not only for domestic athletes, but also for colleagues from around the world who respected and respected him.

Now one of the main questions is how the tragedy in the family will affect the career of Khabib Nurmagomedov himself. Already in the fall of 2020, he had to fight with Justin Gatgy, the success of which could not only allow him to catch up with the record of the light division in the number of successful defenses, but also win the 29th victory in a row. At the moment, the cancellation or rescheduling of the battle was not reported, but there is every reason for this. In the current circumstances, it may take time for the champion to recover, and this time no one will have the right to blame him.

Of course, one immediately recalls the negative reaction from the fans, caused by Nurmagomedov’s refusal to speak at UFC 249. Then the Russian was forced to withdraw from the duel with Tony Ferguson because of the coronavirus pandemic and remained at home, which caused a storm of public indignation. Many hastened to call Khabib a coward and accuse him of trying to avoid a battle with El Kukuy.

But if even then the attacks on Khabib could be called at least unfounded, then now there can be no talk of a negative reaction to him. Yes, someone can say that there is at least two months left before the battle with Gatgy and during this time it is quite possible to recover from a moral shock. But in the case of Nurmagomedov, the death of his father is not only the loss of one of the closest people in the world. Abdulmanap was an inspirer, mentor and coach for him, so his death can dramatically affect absolutely all aspects of the life of the UFC lightweight champion.

In recent years, MMA fans have managed to find out how close were Khabib and Abdulmanap. The Russian fighter spoke of a close relationship with him in almost every interview, regularly emphasizing how much his father had a great influence on him and how important his opinion played. This was also confirmed in their surroundings. No wonder the manager Ali Abdel-Aziz called the “boss” of Nurmagomedov Sr. and said that it was he who made the main decisions in the athlete’s team. In particular, that is exactly what he said in response to a question about a possible revenge with Conor McGregor.

As for Khabib himself, he gave some of the most striking comments about his relationship with Abdulmanap ahead of the UFC 242. The tournament in Abu Dhabi was the first under the auspices of the promotion, where his father had the opportunity to be in the corner of his son. After all, because of problems with the visa, he was deprived of the opportunity to accompany him during events in the United States. It is not surprising that this event caused a flurry of repeated questions from the media, one of which the athlete reacted quite emotionally.

"My father? (Laughs.)  Of course, he is here, brother, I just talked about this. For me, he is not only a coach, but also my dad. I think you don’t understand how much I love him. Let's talk about it ... he is very strong. We fight with him every day. You should also try. He likes it, ”said Nurmagomedov in September 2019.

Not surprisingly, the battle with Dustin Porrier in the UAE turned out to be extremely emotional for Habib and one of the most intense in recent times. As Nurmagomedov Jr. himself admitted, he was very worried about the presence of a huge number of relatives in the stands, as well as a number of teammates in the card. But the appearance in the corner of his father, undoubtedly, became for him the most important event.

“As I said, when I go to the cage with my father, there is a feeling that I go there with a lion. My team gives me so much energy and strength ... I am glad that I was able to show such a performance in front of my father, ”said Nurmagomedov.

Moreover, the most obvious importance of his father for Nurmagomedov is not shown by the moments of his triumph, which have been more than enough in recent years. And those episodes where he failed or made the wrong decisions. Of course, in this regard, he recalls his jump from the cage after a fight with McGregor at UFC 229. Even before the fight, the Irishman repeatedly tried to get Khabib out of himself using all kinds of tresh-current techniques. In particular, he repeatedly rudely spoke out against Abdulmanap, hoping that this would certainly affect the opponent’s emotional state.

There is every reason to believe that such a reckless act occurred solely because in the corner of Habib was not his main mentor. In the eyes of Abdulmanap, he would hardly have done such a thing and endangered not only his reputation, but also his honorary title. The UFC has always reacted quite harshly to the manifestation of unsportsmanlike behavior and could very well have stripped a Russian of his rank. Suffice it to recall the case of the suspension of Paul Daily, who hit Josh Koschek after the bout (the trophy eventually remained with the owner, who managed to get away with a nine-month suspension and a fine).

One cannot fail to recall one more unsuccessful episode directly related to the absence of a father near Khabib. This is the third unsuccessful attempt to organize his meeting with Ferguson at UFC 209. The day before the show, the Russian was hospitalized due to health problems. As it became known later, the reason for this was an unsuccessful weight loss.

“First of all, I want to say that this is a very complex and delicate process. Indeed, in addition to the fact that you need to lose the necessary weight, you also need to remain in proper condition. I always follow Habib's weight loss. But, as you know, I could not be with him in the USA - they do not give me a visa to this country. So weight loss was monitored by the son’s team. I note that I do not blame them for anything. They performed this task more than once, ”said Nurmagomedov Sr. to Izvestia in 2017.

“Only one person is to blame for this situation. And this person is Habib. If I were next to him, I would admit that this is my omission, ”he added.

At the moment, it is these two incidents that remain the darkest spots in Nurmagomedov’s bright career and it so happened that both of them occurred in the absence of Abdulmanap. And if earlier he was in constant contact with the athlete, supervised his training in Dagestan and helped him develop in sports in general, now Khabib will have to rely on himself and those close people who stayed with him. And while there can be no certainty that they will be as wise as his father.

We can safely say that the coming year will be decisive for Nurmagomedov and show how he will overcome one of the most difficult periods in his life. So, he can use the death of his father as the strongest motivation, begin to engage even harder and continue to win in his memory. Otherwise, there is a risk of making a number of wrong decisions and ruining the whole legacy that they created together with Abdulmanap over the past 12 years.

In this context, the story of Mike Tyson is immediately recalled. Unlike Nurmagomedov, he was not lucky to have a father like Abdulmanap, but in the life of a boxer, Cas D'Amato took this place. He not only adopted a young guy, but also became his coach, raising the youngest world champion in history. It is not surprising that it was under the guidance of a specialist that Iron Mike not only achieved great success in sports, but was also able to put his personal life in order, having ceased to engage in robbery and robbery.

It was with the death of D'Amato that Tyson’s career began to decline. The coach passed away in 1985, but the inertia athlete continued to move forward for several more years. Over time, the lack of a mentor began to be felt more and more seriously, and this was most evident in the behavior of an athlete outside the ring. He repeatedly violated the law, and in 1991 was completely charged with rape. Mike spent three years in prison, and upon his return was never the same.

Of course, such a fate does not exactly await Habib, because by nature and upbringing he does not closely resemble Mike. But do not deny the fact that the loss of a teacher and father can have a detrimental effect on his further performances in MMA. The current situation will show how important Abdulmanap had on him and whether the head of the American Kickboxing Academy, Javier Mendes, would be able to manage him alone. Yes, the American helped many UFC mixed martial arts and UFC champions take part, including Daniel Cormier, Kane Velazquez and Luke Rockhold, but bringing a person to life after such a shock is a task of a slightly different level.

It is possible that fans of Nurmagomedov risk no longer seeing their idol in its previous form, or maybe even lose the opportunity to follow him in the octagon. The tragedy can seriously knock down Habib and even make him think about leaving the sport. Earlier, he and his father repeatedly said that the next two or three fights would be the last, but plans could easily change. MMA is not a sport that needs to be practiced without sufficient motivation. And if the Eagle cannot find a desire to continue, money is unlikely to convince him.

Nevertheless, it seems quite probable that the death of Abdulmanap will push Habib if he does not continue to perform until the age of 40, then at least spend a couple more duels in the cage. Thus, he will be able not only to prove to everyone and everyone that he is an outstanding athlete, but also to honor the memory of his father. You can be sure that he would be very happy if his son set a record for the number of defenses in the light division and dedicated this achievement to him.

Of course, at first it will be very difficult for Khabib to overcome the existing difficulties, but later he will be able to find the strength to continue. It is impossible to go such a long way if the person himself does not have sufficient desire and internal reserves, so there is no reason to doubt the Russian mood. In addition, earlier both he and Abdulmanap had repeatedly admitted that their goal was a 30: 0 record.

Back in September 2019, Nurmagomedov Sr. admitted that he would not mind seeing his son’s anniversary fight in Moscow. According to him, this would be a great final chord for the first absolute UFC champion from Russia. And at the moment there is nothing that could prevent the son from fulfilling his father’s dream. A victory in a rematch with Conor McGregor or a triumph in a duel with Tony Ferguson at the 81,000th Luzhniki Stadium is an ideal career ending and a great gift for the main man in life. Even if he doesn’t see it.