UFC light-weight champ Islam Makhachev has been so impressed with teammate Umar Nurmagomedov’s work ethic through the years — however not the upcoming bantamweight title challenger’s gasoline pumping expertise.
Makhachev headlines Saturday’s UFC 311 pay-per-view occasion as he defends his title in opposition to Arman Tsarukyan in a rematch, whereas Nurmagomedov challenges 135-pound champ Merab Dvalishvili within the co-main evet.
Forward of the UFC’s first huge occasion of 2025, Makhachev shared a hilarious story of a younger Nurmagomedov making an enormous mistake whereas pumping gasoline earlier than a deliberate highway journey.
“One time we had been coaching in San Jose and among the guys say, ‘Let’s go to San Francisco,’” Makhachev stated at media day. “I instructed them, ‘Hey, no, I don’t wish to go to San Francisco as a result of among the time, [there’s] site visitors a couple of hour [driving during] the weekend.’ They only go away, 4 individuals and I referred to as them after two hours. ‘Hey, the place are you guys? You attain San Francisco?’
“They are saying, ‘No, we reached the resort the place we [left] from.’ I stated, ‘What occurred?’ They instructed me, ‘We go to the gasoline station and Umar put diesel in our automobile.’”
Makhachev seems to make historical past this weekend. With a victory, the No. 1 pound-for-pound greatest fighter would grow to be the primary fighter in historical past to defend the light-weight title 4 instances — which incorporates two wins over former featherweight champ Alexander Volkanovski, and a submission win in opposition to Dustin Poirier in his most up-to-date protection at UFC 302 this previous June.
Nurmagomedov is undefeated over 18 professional fights, and 6 octagon appearances. In his most up-to-date outing, the 29-year-old defeated perennial contender Cory Sandhagen in the primary occasion of UFC Abu Dhabi this previous August.
Regardless of Dvalishvili saying that Nurmagomedov could not have achieved sufficient to earn his first title shot by way of total résumé, Makhachev has seen the surging bantamweight put together for this second for a decade.
“I do know Umar greater than 10 years, this man’s probably the most disciplined man in our gymnasium,” Makhachev stated. “He traveled quite a bit when he [wasn’t] within the UFC. He traveled quite a bit with us, and he was coaching for 10 years with us all over the place. This man’s hungry.
“When he was younger, he was at all times enthusiastic about UFC belt, ‘I wish to be champion, I wish to be [a] success.’ And he’s a tough employee, that’s why he’s a contender proper now. That’s why he’s combating for the belt. He [deserves it] as a result of I noticed how he [was] coaching. [He’s] very hungry.”
