Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov, the father of UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, died at the age of 57 from complications from COVID-19.
According to a report by RT Sport, the specific cause of death was “irreversible brain trauma caused by a stroke” and he was last residing in a Moscow hospital. The news was first reported by Sputnik International, citing an announcement by the Head of the Chechen Republic, Ramzan Kadyrov.
It was Abdulmanap who introduced Khabib to the world of martial arts when Khabib was eight years old, starting with wrestling training before the future MMA star added judo and sambo to his arsenal. He has trained Khabib throughout his career, but due to visa issues he was only able to corner him once in the UFC. That moment took place last September when Khabib successfully defended his lightweight title against Dustin Poirier at UFC 242 in Abu Dhabi.
The elderly Nurmagomedov also served as the head coach of the Republic of Dagestan’s national sambo combat team.
Abdulmanap had been battling health problems since mid-May when he suffered a stroke and was placed in a medically induced coma. Initially, he was diagnosed with pneumonia. Khabib later revealed that his father suffered from coronavirus-related heart complications and that he had more than 20 family members who had also been infected.
“Many people I know have died, parents of people close to me,” Khabib said in an Instagram live chat on May 18. “This virus has affected everyone. This virus does not ask what your last name or first name is, it does not ask where you work, if you are rich or poor. Everyone has gotten sick. We can only get through this together.”
Abdulmanap fell into a second coma less than a week after waking up from the first, but Khabib’s manager Ali Abdelaziz told ESPN in June that Abdulmanap was in a hospital in Moscow and was “getting better.” On June 22, Khabib said on Russian television that his father’s condition was “still serious” and that while they believed the coronavirus was no longer a problem, he noted that “the virus has had consequences for the kidneys (from Abdulmanap) and his heart. ” “
Abdulmanap is survived by his three children, Khabib, Magomed and Amina.
