
“Khabib Nurmagomedov has reacted to his teammate Islam Makhachev pulling out of this weekend’s UFC Vegas 14 headliner.”
UFC lightweight winner Khabib Nurmagomedov has responded to some teammate Islam Makhachev pulling from the weekend’s Vegas 14 headliner contrary to Rafael dos Anjos due to an undisclosed injury.
Following the affirmation of Islam Makhachev pulling from this event, Nurmagomedov chose to Instagram to discuss a movie of him and Islam through a press conference ahead of UFC 242: Khabib vs. Poirier. Along with the movie, Khabib sent a consoling message into Islam, telling the latter that injuries are a part of the game and that it needs a great deal of patience to become a champion.
Nurmagomedov further stated, quoting Prophet Muhammad, what happened to Islam Makhachev was very unlucky, but one cannot be victorious without patience, one can’t find new things without dropping out on others, and lastly, that there’s not any relief without any difficulty.
Injuries are part of this game, to become a champion you need to go through a lot, patience and a good mood for you Brother @islam_makhachev – The Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon Him) said: “Know that what has passed should not have happened to you, and what happened to you should not have passed you. And know that there is no victory without patience, finds without loss, relief without difficulty.”
Will Islam Makhachev’s recent injury push hamper his title shot?
Islam Makhachev and Khabib Nurmagomedov are mates as well as close friends. In recent years, both Khabib along with his late dad Abdulmanap had predicted that Makhachev would finally become a lightweight champion from the UFC, in the post-Khabib era.
But, Makhachev’s championship dreams have been dealt a heavy blow for today as he will miss what would have been his first UFC headliner. Makhachev is 18-1 in his professional career and is currently on an impressive six-fight winning streak within the Octagon. A triumph against dos Anjos might have propelled Islam Makhachev to contender status in the 155lbs branch.
That is actually the second time a matchup between Islam Makhachev and Rafael dos Anjos has been canceled due to unforeseen conditions. Makhachev and dos Anjos were put to fight on October 24 in the UFC Fight Island in Abu Dhabi, but the latter was forced off the card after testing positive for COVID-19.