Islam Makhachev has revealed the details of his phone call with Khabib Nurmagomedov just moments after beating Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 284.
Makhachev, 31, made the first defence of his lightweight title by winning a decision against featherweight champion Volkanovski on Saturday night with scores of 48-47, 48-47 and 49-46. Volkanovski was moving up to lightweight for the first time in his UFC career and was attempting to become just the fifth double-champ in promotional history, but the Australian met his match in Makhachev after going unbeaten in 22 fights.
Nurmagomedov wasn't in the corner of Makhachev despite guiding him to his UFC title win against Charles Oliveira last October in Abu Dhabi. The UFC legend, who retired from fighting in 2020, opted to step away from MMA entirely last month to spend more time with his family. This didn't stop Nurmagomedov from speaking with Makhachev moments after his win and he was critical of his childhood's friend performance.
