Umar Nurmagomedov may not have won the matchmakers over the way he wanted at UFC 321, but his humility sure won over some fans. Speaking of his cousin, the legendary Khabib Nurmagomedov, Umar admitted that his dedication was not at par with that of ‘The Eagle,’ an admission that Chael Sonnen was happy to agree to, and supplement with his own story.

Umar Nurmagomedov spoke at the post-event presser in Abu Dhabi about Khabib Nurmagomedov and how far ahead he is compared to the rest of the fighters on Team Khabib. His level of determination is unmatched. Those words from the bantamweight star moved MMA legend Chael Sonnen, who said, “Why was Khabib special? And Umar answered this question [during the post-fight presser], but it was so fascinating to me, and it all came down to discipline,” on his YouTube channel. Sonnen claims to have seen Khabib’s work ethic through his own eyes, revealing a story about the time they were staying at the same hotel.

Chael Sonnen talks about Khabib Nurmagomedov’s discipline while praising Umar

According to many sources, including members of Team Khabib, the 29-0 legend is often the hardest worker in the room. Since he became a coach, ‘The Eagle’ has been investing a lot of time in his fighters. But he’s been mentoring fighters ever since he was an active fighter. In one of those instances, which took place in Florida, when a fighter needed help and assistance, Chael Sonnen happened to witness Khabib’s work ethic and dedication to his team. “I was on a redeye with Khabib out to Florida. We checked in at the desk at the same time, which was past 1 in the morning,” Sonnen stated.

After travelling together with Khabib Nurmagomedov and checking in at the hotel, Chael Sonnen decided to get some shut-eye. At five in the morning, when he woke up to get some coffee, ‘The American Gangster’ was taken by surprise.

“I come down at 5 in the morning. I come downstairs to get coffee, and Khabib was coming back through the doors with one of his athletes, and they were both drenched in sweat, and they both had plastics on,” Chael Sonnen continued. “It was the day of the weigh-in, and Khabib was helping somebody cut the weight. But the point was, I said goodbye to him at 1:00 AM and hello to him at 5:00 AM.”

Despite travelling on a late-night flight, Khabib Nurmagomedov shrugged off his jet lag, which impressed Chael Sonnen. ‘The American Gangster’ hailed his relentless discipline that made him use those four hours from 1 AM to 5 AM to find a place to train to make sure the weight cut process was complete by the time the weigh-ins took place. Sonnen would share pleasant words for Umar Nurmagomedov, who’s striving to develop the kind of discipline his cousin is widely respected for having.

“In those four hours, all I know is he went to his room and somewhere, found a workout to get sweaty enough that they’re drenched. So, I have seen this around-the-clock ride of Khabib. I’ve seen that myself,” Chael Sonnen added. “I really appreciate it. But I appreciate it Umar telling the story because Umar, who I would look at as almost Mr. Perfect in the world of being disciplined.”

Discipline is not the only thing that helped Khabib Nurmagomedov reach the top of the MMA world. His former coach, Javier Mendez, revealed that ‘The Eagle’ had another quality in him that set him apart from others.

Khabib could keep a cool head like no one else

We saw Khabib Nurmagomedov jump over the fence at UFC 229, which was the only big controversy he had during his time as a UFC fighter. That caused a big brawl, and the former champion would later come out to apologize during the press conference for the incident because he’s normally a pretty cool guy. During an interview from earlier this year, Javier Mendez claimed that Khabib was the most mentally powerful fighter he has ever trained.

Javier Mendez claimed Khabib Nurmagomedov maintained his composure and did not let anything bother him to the point that he lost focus. “Khabib, out of all of those guys, was mentally the strongest… No matter what happened, what outcome happened good or bad, he stayed pretty level-headed,” the AKA head coach told Tim Welch on the latter’s YouTube podcast.

There are numerous stories about Khabib Nurmagomedov and the qualities that make him a unique fighter that people know, and we can expect more such stories to come to light in the future. Not everyone may consider him the UFC GOAT, but there’s no doubt that he’s one of the hardest workers that the sport of MMA has ever had, both as a fighter and as a coach. What do you think?