Khabib Nurmagomedov and his Dagestani contingent at the AKA gym camp have already produced three world champions, with more well on their way. That line-up is the most dangerous in MMA at the moment, with the unity and camaraderie between its members being like no other team. Most of the guys have embraced each other like family or have known each other since childhood. This is another reason their group is so tightly knit.

The bond between reigning lightweight champ Islam Makhachev and Khabib Nurmagomedov, who have been friends since they were kids, is firm. No wonder even Makhachev’s upcoming UFC 311 opponent, Arman Tsarukyan admires the champ’s illustrious team. “Of course, I would like to have a team like that [like Makhachev’s]. This is an example for all of us – what a team should look like, how they support each other,” Tsarukyan said in an interview with Russian MMA outlet ‘Ushtayaka’.

In fact, the Armenian was very complimentary of Khabib, whose fight IQ and understanding Tsarukyan respects a lot. “When he [Khabib] won fights, I wrote to him [on Instagram]. Otherwise [to ask for advice] – no. We don’t have the same relationship. I’m not his teammate, not his friend, to ask for advice. But if we were sitting at the table in the same company, I would definitely ask him for some advice,” the 155lbs title challenger added.

Of course, all of Khabib’s intimate sense of the game would be turned against Tsarukyan at UFC 311 on January 18 as he takes on Islam Makahchev with ‘The Eagle’ in his corner. Thankfully, the Armenian contender has the perfect game plan to deal with this problem.

Arman Tsarukyan plans to neutralize Islam Makhachev’s gameplan with one simple trick

Since Islam Makhachev has two of the finest MMA minds- Khabib Nurmagomedov and Javier Mendez in his corner, Arman Tsaruyan has come up with a trick to clinch the gold in his title bout- making Makhachev forget his gameplan. How? By hurting Makhachev early.

“I think when like [talking about] game plan when you got like hard punch, you forgot about the game plan… Same as me when like [in] my last fight against, Oliveira choked me… after that moment my game plan was gone. So I didn’t even remember what was my game plan. So that’s why I got to hurt him very hard in the first round and then doesn’t matter what game plan they have,” Tsarukyan said in an interview with Megan Olivi.

And Tsarukyan certainly has the power to hurt Makhachev early, even if the Dagestani is a better technical striker. Then again, this is easier said than done since the reigning champion has also developed a pretty dynamic striking repertoire and will be more than ready for anything the Armenian throws his way. But that won’t stop Tsarukyan from trying. What do you think about Tsarukyan’s take on Islam Makhachev’s camp?