The sacrifice that helped make a UFC champion

ISLAM Makhachev and his brother Kurban grew up poor in a remote village in Dagestan, a Russian republic tucked into the mountains between Georgia and the Caspian Sea. Their father farmed and drove a truck. Like many in Dagestan, both boys wanted to become great fighters, perhaps someday in the UFC, which they had seen on television.

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ISLAM Makhachev celebrates after defeating Jack Della Maddalena to win the welterweight title at UFC 322 in New York City last weekend.

(AFP)

Both had promise and hoped to train with the great Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov, a legendary Dagestani sambo and judo coach who was then preparing his son Khabib to become one of the UFC’s top champions. There was no way Islam and Kurban could afford to train together under Nurmagomedov. Kurban was older than Islam. If either of them was going to train to fight, it would be him. But Kurban had a feeling about his brother. He saw in Islam a fighter who could grow into a champion. And so he put aside his own dream and took two jobs to help pay for Islam's training.

The decision to sacrifice his own fighting hopes was difficult, Kurban explained, yet it was something he felt compelled to do. His decision proved prophetic. Islam went to work with Nurmagomedov, training alongside Khabib, who is three years older.

Khabib became a professional mixed martial artist in 2008, joined the UFC in 2011 and won the organisation’s lightweight championship seven years later. He held the title until 2020, when he retired with a 29-0 record and took over his father’s coaching empire following his death.