Mak Explains Why Khabib Won’t Be At UFC 294

Khabib refuses to favor one fighter above another, meaning he won’t be at UFC 294 to cheer on Islam Makhachev.

Khabib Nurmagomedov may have been by Islam Makhachev’s side for the last two weeks of his UFC 294 training camp. But “The Eagle” reportedly won’t be landing in Abu Dhabi to watch Makhachev rematch Alexander Volkanovski at Etihad Arena on Saturday.

Makhachev has made it clear in the past: no, Khabib won’t be cornering him on October 14th. Now he’s saying Khabib won’t even be around to watch the fight in person. Why? Well, you could say it’s a bit of a political situation, or you could think of it like a father not picking favorites amongst his children.

“Here is my explanation: We have a very big team,” Makhachev said. “What if Khabib is there for one of us? We’re all equal. No matter if somebody’s a champion and the other guy is still on his way up, we all support each other. If he is there for my fight, he will need to be there for every single one from our team to not let anyone feel abandoned.”

“He has already said that he will not attend the fights and he will not corner anyone,” Islam reminded us. “And we all support him in this decision.”

Khabib retired from competition in October 2020 but then spent the proceeding two years coaching and cornering everyone in his team. It was great for the team: fighters coached by Khabib went 19-2 under his watchful eye. But not so great for his family life. There was always another fight to go to, another camp to participate in.

At the start of 2023, statements came out saying that Khabib was walking away from the world of MMA completely. No more camps, no more cornering. And he’s stuck to that, right up until this camp with Islam Makhachev for UFC 294. Will he stick to his word and stay away from Abu Dhabi on fight night? We kind of hope he doesn’t. but knowing how Nurmagomedov rolls, it wouldn’t be surprising if he no-shows.