The fighters from Dagestan have taken over MMA in several promotions, including the UFC. Part of the reason why that region has given the sport some absolute dominators and skillful fighters is one man. Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov, the father of UFC legend Khabib Nurmagomedov. The late legendary coach has reportedly trained eighteen world champions, with his son being among the bunch. Khabib’s father’s untimely passing was the reason why he decided to hang up his gloves after his last fight at UFC 2020 and retire in 2021.
The pain of the thought of not having his father in his corner while fighting was the nail in the coffin that led to ‘The Eagle’ prematurely bidding farewell to the sport at the age of 32. But there’s no doubt that he and his father’s legacies live on, as Nurmagomedov recently shared an old video clip of his training with his team under Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov. The video the 29-0 legend shared on his Instagram stories gave us a look at the unconventional methods of training Abdulmanap used for his fighters.
All the fighters were engaged in workouts without any equipment in a forest near the mountains, as one of Khabib’s teammates started doing an exercise, but his repetitions, which amounted to 50, weren’t very clean. “How he [his teammate] liked to reduce [the reps],” Khabib Nurmagomedov wrote. “50 or 40))) Wasn’t made clean.” For those wondering in what way that exercise, which was a parallel bar pull-up, benefits a fighter, ‘The Eagle’ cleared that out as well. His father used that workout routine to help make his fighters faster. “The task was for speed,” Nurmagomedov added.
MOSCOW, RUSSIA NOVEMBER 9, 2019: UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov s father and coach Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov attends the UFC Fight Night 163 mixed martial arts event, at CSKA Arena. Valery Sharifulin/TASS PUBLICATIONxINxGERxAUTxONLY TS0C25DB
Nurmagomedov had mentioned in the past that his father prioritized speed because he emphasized the fast execution of techniques, which explains his relentless fighting style. Well, this training method is nothing compared to when Abdulmanap used to make his fighters fight wild animals, especially bears. His son Khabib was also no exception to wrestling bears, clips of which are wildly popular among UFC enthusiasts. However, that method would once draw criticism, especially from the people affiliated with animal rights groups. Let’s take a look at that front.
Khabib Nurmagomedov faced criticism for wrestling with bears
Fighting a bear raises the risk of serious and fatal consequences for any human being. They’re wild animals, after all, but some people didn’t see it that way when they came across the viral video of Khabib Nurmagomedov. The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) sent a complaint to the FUC in 2019 to address the issue surrounding ‘The Eagle’ wrestling a “chained bear” and possibly putting the animal in danger.
“PETA encourages the UFC to evaluate its relationship with Mr Nurmagomedov until he shows a clear change in attitude and a commitment to showing animals the respect they deserve,” PETA wrote in their statement. “Wrestling with a chained bear is loathsome behaviour that shows an utter lack of respect for and consideration of who these animals are.” Well, Khabib issued a response in return, and while he defended his father’s idea to make him wrestle animals, he also claimed that he had gotten rid of the practice of wrestling bears in his camp.
Well, apart from the controversy surrounding bears, Nurmagomedov’s father had no debacles at all. Despite his death, his legend will live forever, with many fighters carrying on his legacy, making a name for themselves, and putting Dagestan on the map. Let us know your thoughts in the comments down below.
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