Khabib’s teammate makes debut, dedicates victory to the late Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov


Khabib’s teammate makes debut, dedicates victory to the late Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov
Khabib and Ulanbekov

UFC Fight Island 5 is over and it was headlined by a thunderous Joaquin Buckley knockout. It also saw the debut of Russian flyweight Tagir Ulanbekov, who is the teammate of the great Khabib Nurmagomedov. He emerged victorious over Bruno Silva in a hard fought match, ultimately winning by unanimous decision. An emotional Ulanbekov, dedicated his first UFC win to his coach, the late Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov.

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The training camp spearheaded by Khabib’s father, Abdulmanap is known for bringing up a lot of talented fighters. Although, Mr. Abdulmanap is no more, the legacy he left behind will definitely inspire these fighters. Ulanbekov’s win definitely would be a much needed one for the camp–just recovering from the loss of their boss, Abdulmanap.

“Rest in Peace” – Tagir Ulanbekov

Tagir Ulanbekov landing a punch on Bruno Silva

Speaking after the fight Ulanbekov said, “I want to dedicate this victory to our coach, Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov. Rest in peace. This fight was a big responsibility for me, I had to motivate my teammates Khabib and Islam (Makhachev). They are fighting on upcoming cards. I didn’t fight the way I wanted. Everybody says the first fight in UFC, you get too much pressure and everything, and I guess it’s true. I felt it, as well.

I wanted to keep the fight standing, and I thought I would go through him much easier,” Ulanbekov said. “I didn’t expect the fight to be this hard. It was one of my hardest fights to date. This was a long training camp. I was supposed to fight before, but I didn’t, unfortunately. I didn’t fight because Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov died. So it was just pretty much a six-month, non-stop training camp, so now I want to rest.

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What do you make of the Russian flyweight’s UFC debut? Will he become an unstoppable force like Khabib?

Also Read: Joaquin Buckley’s knockout of the year!