It appears Khabib Nurmagomedov’s father, Abdulmanap, has been hospitalized due to suspected pneumonia and the flu.
Ramazan Rabadanov, a sports commentator in Dagestan, is a close friend of Abdulmanap. He took to his Instagram account to reveal that Abdulmanap has fallen ill.
“Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov fell ill. I almost managed to equip the park, took out the garbage, planted an alley of new trees, put beautiful benches along the paths, and yesterday I did not come to the park. I hope pneumonia doesn’t really hook my friend and he will come to the park again.”
Rabadanov later told Championat.com that he couldn’t confirm whether or not Abdulmanap caught the coronavirus.
“Abdulmanap lies in Makhachkala, in the 2nd city hospital. Sick in the mountains. He walked for two days, the brothers barely persuaded [him] to go to the hospital. While coronavirus is not confirmed, they say the flu. No one is allowed to him. The world champion Shamil Zavurov also fell ill. They say there are other sick athletes,” Rabadanov said in an interview with Championship correspondent Andrei Pankov.
It’s no secret how close Khabib is to his father. Often times, American Kickboxing Academy head coach Javier Mendez would tell Khabib to stick to “Father’s Plan” during fights. Khabib often credits his father for instilling discipline in him at an early age.
Khabib was scheduled to put his UFC lightweight gold on the line against Tony Ferguson on April 18. Due to a travel ban in Russia, the UFC moved on with an interim title bout between Ferguson and Justin Gaethje. The event was pushed back to May 9 due to the COVID-19 crisis.
We at MMA News send our best wishes to Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov and we hope for a speedy and full recovery.
