Fighters hailing from Dagestan may just have loyalty as their middle name because everybody seems to support each other. Ikram Aliskerov made his return to the Octagon for a second time in 2025, and he recorded a second win in a row, showing not only his striking but also his grappling. That may have had a lot to do with the fact that Khabib Nurmagomedov was in his corner, but fans seem to have divisive reactions when it comes to Aliskerov’s performance.

Ikram Aliskerov was on fire with a 3-fight win streak until his 1st-round loss to former champion Robert Whittaker. But he bounced back well with a 1st-round KO of his own against Andre Muniz, and at UFC 321, with Khabib Nurmagomedov’s help, he earned another win over JunYong Park. Aliskerov busted up the South Korean fighter during the fight and delivered a good overall showcase.

According to the stats, Aliskerov landed more than a hundred strikes on his opponent with a 67 percent significant strikes landed. His opponent landed just a little less than the Dagestan native did. JungYong Park also had no answers to Aliskerov’s ground game, as Khabib’s protege scored five out of seven takedowns. It certainly showed the dynamic style the Dagestan middleweight possesses.

Ikram Aliskerov got his praise for putting on a winning performance, but at the same time, fans also have their doubts. However, those doubts weren’t so much about the 32-year-old as they were about Khabib Nurmagomedov. Here’s what they had to say.

Fans shared mixed reactions as Khabib Nurmagomedov cornered Ikram Aliskerov

Ikram Aliskerov, according to some fans, had a pretty good showing at UFC 321. He landed more significant strikes than his opponent, JunYong Park, who showed great spirit but ultimately lost the matchup. But fans were more praiseful of Aliskerov’s multiple takedown attempts. “After Khabib appeared in Ikram Aliskerov’s corner, he landed more takedowns in this fight, than he had in his whole UFC career,” a fan wrote on X.

The praise kept coming as one fan made a bold claim, saying that Ikram Aliskerov is much better than people give him credit for. “People will say its a bad performance, but everyone was on park this week, ikram is better than you think, and park is worse than you think,” he wrote. But not everybody were on the same page because another user on X refuted that fact. He responded, “No they weren’t lol.”

Some fans did not seem too impressed with the way Khabib Nurmagomedov was guiding Ikram Aliskerov. At one point, he was seen telling the middleweight fighter, “Do not show you’re tired.” One fan went on to write, “That isn’t a good look for ikram to be looking exhausted after two rounds fear that cardio might become an issue in the future,” criticizing Aliskerov’s gas tank. Khabib’s archrival Conor McGregor‘s friend Dillon Danis commented and said, “Khabib’s coaching = complete trash,” showing no love for ‘The Eagle’.

Well, what do you think of Khabib’s coaching skills? Did Ikram Aliskerov’s performance impress you? Drop your comments below.