“We have only one way, hard work,” is what the Hall of Famer, and UFC legend Khabib Nurmagomedov, once said while training during Ramadan. If there’s one thing ‘The Eagle’ knows well, it’s the value of hard work. And who instilled this drive in him? None other than his father, the late Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov, whose legacy is defined by an uncompromised approach to discipline needed not just on the mats but off them too. Despite this, the late Nurmagomedov Sr. never distinguished between his students based on individual differences. No. When it came to training, everyone was treated equally.
“When Abdulmanap came to the hall, everyone was equal for him Now, if you are a minute late, he told you to pack your things and leave, and there was no difference – father, uncle on the contrary, he treated us more harshly.” Khabib once said as per Inside Sport. This lesson never left ‘The Eagle’, and it seems like he employs the same method as a coach now. His protégée, UFC lightweight champ Islam Makhachev recently revealed Khabib’s strictness through a video before UFC 311. In the latest, a top flyweight prospect from Team Khabib was seen reprimanded by ‘The Eagle’.
Home of Fight shared a clip taken by Makhachev where he secretly took a video of Khabib in ‘coaching mode’. In the video, his team of fighters was sitting on the floor after a training session, and ‘The Eagle’ was seen scolding UFC 5-1 fighter flyweight Tagir Ulanbekov.
The conversation went something like this: Khabib said, “Let me talk, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, three days you’re on duty. They won’t be coming, Tagir, you’re on duty. You understand? Last time, why didn’t they show up to training?” His pupil tentatively replied, “I don’t know, I told you that .” This answer did not sit well with Nurmagomedov, and the questioning went on further. He asked, “Wait, why didn’t they show up?” This is when Tagir said that the pupils under him overslept.
Islam Makhachev just posted a video on how Khabib enforces discipline at his gym
@MAKHACHEVMMA pic.twitter.com/MYyUu2sMML
— Home of Fight (@Home_of_Fight) April 7, 2025
Khabib asked, “Why did you oversleep?” while the other fighters started laughing, with Tagir trying to defend himself saying, “Wait, can’t I oversleep once?” Not a wise move by the UFC flyweight contender. Khabib instantly reminded the 33-year-old of his responsibilities when he was on duty. Finally, Makhachev said in the video, “What’s going on in the early morning?” while Khabib continued his tirade of questioning, “Wait, everyone! So I have a question for you…” making everyone nervous. This snippet is enough to give a glimpse of how strict and disciplined Khabib is when it comes to training and fighting.
Coach Javier Mendez can rest assured that Khabib is the right person to entrust his team’s training to. The American Kickboxing Academy (AKA) head coach said as per Telecom Asia Sport, “I’ll tell you what Khabib does When he sees that the fighters are tired, he introduces a curfew for them. It starts at about 10 p.m.. He can take their phones away. He also has what’s called a “prison” in his house. Anybody who does something wrong can go to jail. Khabib is a very strict coach, his father did the same thing.”
It doesn’t matter if you’re the lightweight champion of the world or a rising flyweight contender. When you’re in the gym, you do what head coach Khabib tells you. It was no different for welterweight champion Belal Muhammad who spent time training with Team Khabib prior to his UFC 280 bout.
Belal Muhammad was a witness to the uncompromising side of Khabib Nurmagomedov
Belal Muhammad revealed what set Team Khabib apart from anyone else in UFC. At one point in his career, he spent time training with Team Khabib, getting to know their way of life, in the gym and outside of it. And suffice to say, the training was unlike anything Muhammad had encountered, and that it changed his approach to fighting.
Training with ‘The Eagle’ is not just physical training for a fight, it’s the overall sharpening of the mind, body, and soul. “Oh, it’s just another level of training with those guys, just because their mentality is different,” he articulated during an interview with the Overdogspodcast. “There’s no weak round. Every round is hard.”
Be it sparring, grappling, striking, or jiu-jitsu, either you go big or go home. There is only one goal that Khabib expects his team to have: to win every round or not fight. Muhammad was inspired by this mentality because he was someone who liked to pace himself. This did not work in Khabib’s gym, where he even yelled at the Palestinian-American if he went slow. ‘Remember the Name’ revealed, “Anytime I’ll do Jiu-Jitsu, then Khabib would just yell, ‘Get up, we’re not playing Jiu-Jitsu. This is not Jiu-Jitsu. This is MMA. Get up off the ground.”
Do you think this discipline is the reason why Team Khabib has champs in different promotions? Let us know in the comments.
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