While the new welterweight champion Belal Muhammad has mentioned on several occasions his training with Khabib Nurmagomedov, the former lightweight titleholder has made it clear he only helped with the small aspects prior to UFC 304.
This past Saturday, Muhammad finally got to run back his 2021 no contest with Leon Edwards, and fight for a world title in the process. The Palestinian American shocked the crowd in Manchester when he completely shut down the game of Edwards with strategic wrestling along the cage, and dominant control once things hit the ground. Through a unanimous decision after 5 rounds, Muhammad became the new 170-pound UFC champion.
In a recent post to social media, Nurmagomedov congratulated Muhammad on the victory, but made sure to stay modest in terms of taking credit for helping him prepare.
Khabib Nurmagomedov reacts to Belal Muhammad defeating Leon Edwards at #UFC304 🤝
“Belal trained with his coaches, he has very high-class coaches, I just helped him in small things. All credit goes to his coaches and Belal’s heart.”
(via. IG / @TeamKhabib) #UFC #MMA pic.twitter.com/3b741r4kJU
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) July 28, 2024
‘’You deserve it brother. Many congratulations,” Nurmagomedov wrote on social media. “I’m very happy for you and your coach. Hands up, you’re the world champion.”
“Belal trained with his coaches, he has very high-class coaches,” Nurmagomedov said. “I just helped him in small things. All credit goes to his coaches and Belal’s heart.’’
Khabib last appeared in the octagon back in 2020 when he defeated Justin Gaethje by way of a constricting triangle choke to achieve his 29th straight career victory. Since then, he has focused his efforts on coaching, but has more recently slipped behind the scenes and has only taken part in more of a consulting kind of role.
Regardless of his role, it is clear that he is still active in the MMA world, and in some form contributing to the success of some of the best fighters on the planet.