Islam Makhachev Reveals Why Khabib Doesn’t Want His Team Fighting at UFC White House

After claiming a second divisional title, the question on everyone’s mind is whether Islam Makhachev is ready to step out of his mentor Khabib Nurmagomedov’s shadow. Makhachev, who secured the welterweight belt at UFC 322 by defeating Jack Della Maddalena in front of a sold-out crowd at Madison Square Garden, then called out Donald Trump to open the gates of the White House on June 18 for the UFC’s White House event.

But a few days later, his mentor made his stance clear and said he did not want his protégé to fight there. Khabib Nurmagomedov stated, “If you ask me personally, I wouldn’t want him to fight there. Why? I just don’t want to.” Since then, the MMA world has been closely watching, intrigued by the rare difference in mindset between the two Dagestani stars. Now, Islam Makhachev has stepped in to reveal if there’s a chance he’ll fight at the White House next year.

Why doesn’t Coach Khabib want Islam Makhachev at the UFC White House event?

During a recent interview, the interviewer asked the welterweight champion about Khabib Nurmagomedov’s perspective and whether they had spoken about him fighting on the card next year. “Honestly, we have not. Sometimes, Khabib says he would not really want me to fight in Abu Dhabi either, because there are a lot of distractions there. Maybe the same goes for the White House. It is the first tournament, and we do not know how everything will go. But we are already at a level where we have to simulate everything in advance, like my fight in Australia,” Islam Makhachev told Red Corner MMA.