Published 15:14 IST, May 26th 2020
DC reveals Khabib Nurmagomedov is training hard despite Ramadan and father's illness
UFC two-division champion DC revealed that Khabib Nurmagomedov is training hard for his return to the octagon despite his father's illness.
UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov gave some grim news to the world earlier last week. Khabib’s father has been suffering from heart problems due to coronavirus complications. The UFC star also revealed that close to 20 of his relatives have contracted coronavirus. However, Khabib Nurmagomedov is still training hard for his UFC return as he has already vowed to return to the octagon by July. Khabib’s teammate and former UFC heavyweight champion Daniel “DC” Cormier revealed that Khabib is now planning his UFC return, despite following the holy month of Ramadan and his family’s critical condition.
UFC: DC reveals Khabib Nurmagomedov is training hard for his UFC return
Khabib Nurmagomedov earlier claimed that he will be returning to the octagon by July. UFC veteran DC (Daniel Cormier) told ESPN that the lightweight champion will be back till September. While interacting with MMA journalist Ariel Helwani, DC stated that Khabib Nurmagomedov has been training throughout the turmoil and is confident about stepping foot in the octagon soon. However, Khabib Nurmagomedov is yet to give his fans an official update after being out of action in recent months.
“Khabib is still training through all this, through Ramadan, through his father’s issues. Every day he is training. He is still working. He is a professional and he will be ready to fight come September” said DC to ESPN.
Khabib Nurmagomedov is set to defend his lightweight title against interim champion Justin Gaethje upon his return. Though the date and venue of the contest is yet to be confirmed on paper, UFC president Dana White all but confirmed that Justin Gaethje will face Khabib Nurmagomedov when the UFC lightweight champion returns to the octagon. Khabib vowed he will return to action in July in a tweet earlier this month and appeared confident about defeating Justin Gaethje in their contest after seeing him go up against Tony Ferguson.
Khabib family coronavirus update
Following the heart problems caused by COVID-19 complications, Khabib Nurmagomedov’s father was put in a medically induced coma in Moscow. The lightweight champion also revealed that 20 of his family members contracted the deadly bug a few weeks ago and are currently receiving medical attention. Khabib Nurmagomedov further revealed that 11 people in his village have already lost their lives in the last few weeks due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Image courtesy: UFC
Updated 15:14 IST, May 26th 2020