Written by Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC
UFC Hall of Famer Khabib Nurmagomedov had a lot on his plate at UFC 311.
His night started early with the first fight on the card as Tagir Ulanbekov picked up an impressive win over Clayton Carpenter and then he went back-to-back with the main and co-main events as Islam Makhachev successful defended his title with a first-round submission win over Renato Moicano but his cousin Umar Nurmagomedov suffered the first loss of his career after falling to Merab Dvalishvili by unanimous decision. Nurmagomedov collected his thoughts and sent messages to all three of his fighters, which was highlighted by praise for Makhachev after another dominant performance on Saturday.
“Islam Makhachev has once again proven that he is the best in the world right now,” Nurmagomedov wrote on Instagram (translated from Russian via Instagram). “I am very happy for him and the journey he has taken in this sport. In the history of mixed martial arts, very few fighters have achieved what he has achieved. Keep working my brother, this is not the limit.”
Of course, the retired UFC lightweight champion had to collect himself and get Makhachev ready just moments after watching Umar Nurmagomedov come close but ultimately lose a decision to Dvalishvili in a Fight of the Night performance.
It was a tough pill to swallow but Nurmagomedov knows Umar is going to bounce back and get better from this loss.
“Umar Nurmagomedov, keep your head up, junior,” Nurmagomedov wrote. “You showed yesterday that you are one of the best in the world at the moment. We have a lot to work on, work on the mistakes and get back to the title race.
Nurmagomedov also offered encouraging words to Ulanbekov as he continues to make his ascension up the flyweight ranks with another shutout performance.
“Tagir Ulanbekov did a good job and made me very happy,” Nurmagomedov wrote. “But I know he can do even better. This year we need to win a couple more fights. Don’t forget about our target.”
Nurmagomedov has stayed plenty busy since he returned to coaching full time following a brief hiatus from that role after he committed himself to staying home more and focusing on business outside of fighting.
The itch to get back around the sport had to get scratched with Nurmagomedov now firmly planted in the corner for his fighters with hopes of adding another trophy to the collection in the near future.