Morning report: Luke Rockhold says Khabib Nurmagomedov offered to coach him: ‘He’s running for coach of the year’

One of the biggest stories in the MMA world last week was the retirement of lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov. Although Nurmagomedov announced his retirement at UFC 254, in the last few months Dana White insisted that he would be able to convince Khabib to come back for another fight. Earlier this week, the UFC finally overcame that dream and now, finally, Nurmagomedov will be left to follow his other ventures and, apparently, the main one among these ventures will be coaching.

At UFC Vegas 22 last weekend, Nurmagomedov updated his future plans, where he said he was chasing some “business projects”, but still intended to support his brothers fighting in the UFC and one of those brothers, former middleweight champion Luke Rockhold , says Khabib has already tried to train him.

“He is taking on the role of coach now. He’s attacking me, wanting to train me. He wants to be a big part of my return, so it’s really funny to see Khabib take on that role, ”said Rockhold to TMZ Sports. “He’s going to the coach of the year award. That’s what he wants. He wants to be the next big thing, to follow in his father’s footsteps. This is what your father always did. Your father has always been perceptive and has always had a good eye for the sport and I think Khabib is ready to take on that role. “

Khabib’s father, Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov, was among the most influential coaches in the sport before he passed away last year due to complications from COVID-19. Abdulmanap formed the generation of Dagestan fighters who have become a large part of various categories within the UFC, notably his son Khabib. With the death of his father, Khabib assumed part of that role of his father, training and cornering his teammates and Rockhold believes that it is a position in which Khabib will stand out.

“Of course, he can be a good coach,” said Rockhold. “It’s like, sometimes you have to put yourself aside. Even though you know a lot, it is better to orient yourself, like a meaningless workout if you trust your coach, someone to direct you and put you on the right path, because no matter how much you know, sometimes you have to step back and leave someone else address the situation.

“He knows how to press the pace. The thing with Khabib, he always pressed. The first day he showed up, I was like, I like this boy. On the first day he showed up alone and I thought, he works a lot. I was like, come with me, let’s do this, and he always pushed me to my limit. This is what is really needed. You need someone to get on your back, pressure you, and he knows all the techniques and the ways to do that. “

With Khabib switching to training and apparently jumping with both feet, it is not difficult to see why he would like to get involved with Rockhold’s advance. The two have been teammates for years at the American Kickboxing Academy, but Rockhold recently split from AKA while looking for answers to stop his run since he lost the middleweight title in 2016. Rockhold has only one victory in the past five years and was knocked out three times during this stretch, including a failed attempt to make it to the light heavyweight division. Despite briefly flirting with retirement at one point, Rockhold says he is now looking forward to a summer return to the cage, back to 185 pounds, once he is cured of some persistent problems.

“I think realistically, I think it’s summer time, the return of late summer,” said Rockhold. “I have to get my body right. My shoulder has been a constant problem, but it’s finally recovering and getting to the point where I have the confidence to let it go. I’m pushing to get in shape and I feel good. It’s good to be back in the gym and I’m getting that fire back. “

Perhaps Khabib is the only one to lead him back up the mountain.

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Results. Derek Brunson has a stifling performance to dominate Kevin Holland at the UFC Vegas 22 main event.

170 Kevin Holland eyes welterweight fight with Belal Muhammad: ‘Why not do it now?’

Discrimination. Dana White says that Kevin Holland had a ‘mental breakdown’ in the main event; Derek Brunson disagrees.

COVID. Alexander Volkanovski out of UFC 260 because of the COVID-19 protocols, a fight against Brian Ortega to be rescheduled.

Lost. Khabib Nurmagomedov never thought of returning from retirement, says he has nothing to prove.

Results. RIZIN 27 results: Ayaka Hamasaki keeps the belt on the night of quick submissions.

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UFC Vegas Post Show.

UFC Vegas Post-Fight Press Conference 22.

UFC 260 countdown.

UFC champions at a disadvantage.

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For the next. Matchmaking after UFC Vegas 22.

Severe MMA. Discussing UFC Vegas 22, Cage Warriors and the lightweight title photo.

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Derek Brunson.

The champion.

Kevin Holland.

Belal Muhammad.

Brian Ortega.

It means that you should go to 145.

Video games.

Khabib.

Robert Whittaker suffers a cruel knockout during training.

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Jack Hermansson (21-6) vs. Edmen Shahbazyan (11-1); UFC 262, May 15.

Montana De La Rosa (11-6-1) vs. Ariane Lipski (13-6); UFC Fight Night, June 5.

Sijara Eubanks (6-6) vs. Karol Rosa (14-3); UFC 263, June 12.

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Thanks for reading and see you tomorrow.

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