Islam Makhachev takes responsibility for any grey hairs on Khabib Nurmagomedov’s head.
As always, Nurmagomedov was in Makhachev’s corner when he beat Jack Della Maddalena to win the welterweight title at UFC 322 on Saturday. While Makhachev dominated Maddalena (18-3) on the ground, he would have preferred striking some more against the Australian. However, his coach, Javier Mendez, and mentor, Nurmagomedov (29-0), urged him to take the easy route to victory.
“Javier and Khabib blocked my striking,” Makhachev said on the ESPN post-fight show. “I can strike with anyone, but they say, ‘Take him down, hold him, why do you have to go hard?