{"id":6634,"date":"2026-02-04T10:01:37","date_gmt":"2026-02-04T09:01:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mmamag.ma\/en\/?p=6634"},"modified":"2026-02-04T17:03:37","modified_gmt":"2026-02-04T16:03:37","slug":"khabib-nurmagomedov-a-champion-from-his-team-is-already-on-ilia-topurias-level","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mmamag.ma\/en\/khabib-nurmagomedov-a-champion-from-his-team-is-already-on-ilia-topurias-level\/","title":{"rendered":"Khabib Nurmagomedov: a champion from his team is already on Ilia Topuria\u2019s level"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"2576\" data-end=\"2899\">When Khabib Nurmagomedov speaks about a fighter from his team, it is rarely casual praise or empty hype. Built on discipline, restraint, and absolute standards, the former undefeated UFC champion raises expectations only when reality supports them. His recent comments about Usman Nurmagomedov reflect exactly that mindset.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"2901\" data-end=\"3251\">According to Khabib, Usman is no longer a developing prospect, but a fully formed fighter who has already reached the level of the world\u2019s elite \u2014 including Ilia Topuria and Arman Tsarukyan. Such a statement carries significant weight, especially when it places the reigning PFL champion alongside one of the most feared champions in the sport today.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"fr\" dir=\"ltr\">Khabib Nurmagomedov :<\/p>\n<p>Usman Nurmagomedov est d\u00e9sormais au niveau d\u2019Ilia Topuria et d\u2019Arman Tsarukyan \ud83d\udc40<br \/>\ud83d\udd25<br \/>\u00ab En un an, il a \u00e9norm\u00e9ment progress\u00e9. <\/p>\n<p>Je travaille avec lui personnellement, et aujourd\u2019hui il est au m\u00eame niveau. Avant, j\u2019aurais dit d\u2019attendre\u2026 plus maintenant. \u00bb <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/BDxnUcR77o\">pic.twitter.com\/BDxnUcR77o<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; mmamag.ma (@jamalsoussi10) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/jamalsoussi10\/status\/2018773182233055449?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 3, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"3253\" data-end=\"3621\">Still undefeated and steadily rising, Usman Nurmagomedov is coming off a strong win over Paul Hughes and is set to defend his title against Alfie Davis in Dubai. Despite never having competed in the UFC, Khabib believes the competitive gap between Usman and the top fighters of the leading organization no longer exists. In his view, level matters more than promotion.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"3623\" data-end=\"3902\">What gives this assessment real credibility is Khabib\u2019s proximity. He trains with Usman, works with him personally, and witnesses his progression firsthand. Khabib insists that over the past year, Usman has made a decisive leap \u2014 a shift from \u201cwait and see\u201d to \u201cready right now.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"3904\" data-end=\"4199\">These comments reflect the long-standing philosophy of the Nurmagomedov camp: build champions before building stars. After Khabib himself and then Islam Makhachev, Usman now appears to be the next standard-bearer of a system defined by discipline, pressure, and complete control inside the cage.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"4201\" data-end=\"4499\">When Khabib says that \u201ctime will tell,\u201d it is not a hedge. It is confidence rooted in a process that has already produced dominant champions. The question is no longer whether Usman Nurmagomedov can match Ilia Topuria\u2019s level \u2014 but when, and on which stage, he will be given the chance to prove it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When Khabib Nurmagomedov speaks about a fighter from his team, it is rarely casual praise or empty hype. Built on discipline, restraint, and absolute standards, the former undefeated UFC champion raises expectations only when reality supports them. His recent comments about Usman Nurmagomedov reflect exactly that mindset. According to Khabib, Usman is no longer a [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6635,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[45,86,21,91],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-6634","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mma","8":"category-mma-video","9":"category-ufc-news","10":"category-ufc"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmamag.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6634"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmamag.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmamag.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmamag.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmamag.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6634"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mmamag.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6634\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6636,"href":"https:\/\/mmamag.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6634\/revisions\/6636"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmamag.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6635"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmamag.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6634"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmamag.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6634"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmamag.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6634"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}