Khabib Nurmagomedov has seldom backed down from sending praise to the fighters who truly deserve it. With the kind of eye that he has developed over the years of harsh MMA training, ‘The Eagle’ never really misses out on observing exceptional performances in the cage. And it’s not just UFC that attracts the former undefeated lightweight champion’s attention. He also puts his focus on KSW, SRC, and other promotions. That’s how he befriended some of the strongest fighters the MMA realm has ever seen. And this time, Nurmagomedov met with the Polish legend, Mamed Khalidov.

The duo met on what seemed like an airplane. Nurmagomedov and Khalidov were seated right next to each other, with the aisle in between them. Yes, yes, it was reminiscent of ‘The Eagle’ rocking the Octagon while ‘Cannibal’ impressed the fighting community at KSW. Soon after the meeting, the former 3-time KSW champion took to Instagram and revealed how pleased he was with meeting the Dagestani legend. He shared a picture of them together on his IG Story and captioned, “[Khabib Nurmagomedov] it was nice to see you and chat brother 🫶☝️.”

Within a couple of hours, Nurmagomedov followed suit. He shared the same picture on his Instagram Story and highlighted how he felt about the man with a professional MMA record of 38-8-2. In the caption, the 36-year-old coach expressed, “[Mamed Khalidov] Nice casual. Meeting a legend.” Despite being 44 years old, Khalidov was on a 3-fight win streak, with one single loss in boxing, in between. No wonder the Polish star garnered so much respect from the ex-UFC champion. 

But if you think this is their first-ever interaction, you’d be wrong. Of course, we don’t really know if they have met already in the past. But when it came to supporting each other, Khalidov didn’t back down when Nurmagomedov needed it the most. Wanna know about it? Let’s get into it. 

Polish legend once backed Khabib Nurmagomedov’s team during a pinch

We’re talking about the time when Khamzat Chimaev and Abubakar Nurmagomedov clashed right outside the cage at UFC 280. Of course, things got pretty heated up, and the rivalry between the Chechens and Dagestanis continued to rise on social media. In the end, Khabib Nurmagomedov convinced the world that the Chechens and Dagestanis were actually brothers in faith and wished Chimaev success in his title run. Both sides admitted that the drama was all because of a misunderstanding. But right after that, Khalidov swooped in with a few words to support ‘The Eagle.’

Taking to IG, he shared a story showing Nurmagomedov’s picture. He wasted no time in defending the former lightweight champion and asked if Nurmagomedov ever disrespected Chechnya. This stance was worth looking into because Khalidov was, in fact, a Chechen who later shifted to Poland. He wrote, “This man, who is followed by millions, publicly supported Zelimkhan Kharachoevsky… He always treated our people with seriousness, and it is very unpleasant to watch you mock him, writing that “an eagle does not sit in a cage.””

Khalidov reminded the world that Nurmagomedov behaved like a wise and sensible man. He did not quit fighting just to avoid the rise of his conflicts and prevent international discord. ‘Cannibal’ pointed out that Nurmagomedov didn’t deserve any hate. Now, after 3 years, their friendship still goes strong. And the two share nothing but mutual respect for each other.

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What do you think of the friendship between Nurmagomedov and Khalidov? Can we actually expect some collaborations between the Polish team and the Dagestani team in the near future? Let us know what you think in the comments down below.