Here’s why an offended Khabib Nurmagomedov decided to ditch walking out to fights with the Ukrainian flag amid citizenship issues
Khabib Nurmagomedov has promised his mother that heagain. will never fight
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Khabib Nurmagomedov used to walk out with the Ukrainian flag in the past (Via X)
The ‘Eagle’ was born in Dagestan, a republic of Russia. However, his connection with Ukraine goes way back. His father, Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov used to serve in the Ukrainian military. Abdulmanap completed his education in Ukraine and also competed in several sambo tournaments. As a coach, he also trained a lot of fighters in Ukraine.
Khabib Nurmagomedov is undoubtedly one of the most polarizing figures in the world of combat sports. The retired UFC fighter was a dominant force of nature inside the octagon and the lightweight champion. The fighter retired at the top of his game in 2020 because of the unfortunate death of his father. Since then, Nurmagomedov has devoted himself as a coach for his Dagestani friends and brothers.
Nurmagomedov has a huge fan following all over the world. In his home country in Russia, Nurmagomedov is a hero and role model for many youngsters. However, Khabib’s history reveals the fighter has a lot of connections with Ukraine. Before his time in UFC, Nurmagomedov was also seen carrying the Ukrainian flag instead of his iconic ‘Papakha’. It’s a little unusual as Nurmagomedov never took the flag of Russia despite being a citizen of the country.
Khabib Nurmagomedov was denied the Ukrainian visa multiple times
During his early days, Khabib Nurmagomedov tried a lot of times to become a Ukrainian citizen. However, the fighter was denied the opportunity. Back then, Khabib Nurmagomedov was not famous, making his process of becoming a Ukrainian citizen very hard and ultimately he dropped the idea.
According to Khabib’s uncle, Alex Nurmagomedov, the fighter was annoyed by the fact that Ukraine rejected his visa; however, he had no other options.
Nurmagomedov’s loyalty is now certainly with Russia considering his meet-ups with Russian president Vladimir Putin. However, Ukraine lost a chance to include one of the greatest mixed martial artists as their citizen.
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Soumya Ranjan
(2167 Articles Published)