Belal Muhammad may be one of the top dogs in the UFC welterweight division right now, but do you know that some of his toughest fights have occurred outside of the Octagon? Well, he’s done a lot of work behind the scenes over the years, particularly with Khabib Nurmagomedov and his band of elites. The gym rounds were strenuous, punishing, and unlike anything Muhammad had ever done before. So, what actually stayed with him after those intensive sessions? ‘Remember the Name’ has finally revealed what sets Team Khabib apart and helps Muhammad train against major fights such as the upcoming UFC 314 bout against Jack Della Maddalena.
For Muhammad, the most important takeaway was the mindset. Training with Khabib’s crew was more than just skill; it was about mentality. “Oh, it’s just another level of training with those guys, just because their mentality is different,” he said during an interview with the Overdogspodcast. “There’s no weak round. Every round is hard.” Whether it was grappling, striking, or Jiu-Jitsu, everyone in that gym had the same goal: to win every round, no matter what. There was no such thing as taking it easy or pacing yourself. You either gave your all or were left behind.
That philosophy fundamentally changed Muhammad’s approach to his own training. He used to be the type of man who liked to ease into sparring, perhaps rolling a little slowly. But that didn’t fly at Nurmagomedov’s gym. In fact, it often made ‘The Eagle’ yell out at the welterweight champion. He 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.’” It was a continuous reminder that what they were doing wasn’t just sport; it was a fight, and it had to be treated as such every day.
Even now, despite Muhammad’s success—including his idea that he could go up and defeat a middleweight like Dricus Du Plessis—he has publicly stated that Khabib used to destroy him in the gym, and little has changed on that front. “I’m the champion now, but they don’t care,” he said in an interview. “You still have to do the pushups, still have to run with the team.” That’s what distinguishes team Khabib Nurmagomedov from the rest—the work ethic, the humility, and the understanding that the grind never ends, even when you’re winning. However, that does not mean that it is always serious in the camp. In fact, Khabib Nurmagomedov also often has fun with his students, or at least it looks like it to spectators.
Khabib Nurmagomedov once ‘punked’ Belal Muhammad in training
After everything we’ve seen and heard about Khabib Nurmagomedov’s discipline, humility, and unwavering work ethic, you’d be forgiven for believing it’s all serious business. Even in a room full of future champions, ‘The Eagle’ manages to keep things light—at least in his own intense, “alpha in the room” type of way. Just ask Belal Muhammad, who was just the subject of one of Khabib’s humorous but very serious lessons in gym protocol.
It all began when ‘Remember The Name’ brought an unvetted guest to a training session, which Khabib Nurmagomedov does not take lightly. Coach Eric Nicksick recalls the incident with a grin and a sense of secondhand horror. According to him, ‘The Eagle’ was not downright angry, but he was also not joking. “I don’t know who this guy is,” Khabib told Belal Muhammad in front of the entire gym. And with that, the Eagle had flipped the power dynamic on its head, punking the champ in the most Khabib way possible. To emphasize the point, Khabib turned to Nicksick and questioned, “Are you going to let a guy in your gym that you don’t know? Maybe he’s fighting one of your guys?”
It wasn’t just a poke at Belal; it was a subtle lesson in culture-setting. Nurmagomedov eventually let the guest train, but not before everyone in the room received the message. Nicksick saw the entire episode as an unexpected learning opportunity: protect your mats, know who’s on them, and never lower your standards for the sake of convenience. As amusing as the incident was, it emphasized the type of culture that transforms decent fighters into world-class warriors. In Nurmagomedov’s gym, even when you’re joking, you’re teaching. What do you think? Do you believe this discipline would help Muhammad win his fight at UFC 314? Let us know in the comments.
The post “Khabib Would Just Yell”- Ruthless Training Details Revealed Before UFC 314 as Belal Muhammad Confesses Nurmagomedov’s Reality appeared first on EssentiallySports.