3 fighters close to Khabib Nurmagomedov could replace him when he finally retires, his trainer said

• Khabib Nurmagomedov competes in his 29th mixed martial arts match Saturday, and speculation remains over whether the sambo specialist will retire forever next year.
• Daniel Cormier, a former two-weight UFC champion himself, said his gymmate Nurmagomedov has emulated the achievements of other champions from the American Kickboxing Academy in San Jose.
• The AKA founder Javier Mendez was asked at a Fight Island media day this week whether there are any up-and-coming athletes from his academy who can one day emulate Nurmagomedov, like Nurmagomedov emulated Cormier and others.
• Mendez instead hailed three athletes close to Nurmagedomov, telling the MMA media to expect big things from Islam Makhachev, Umar Nurmagomedov, and Usman Nurmagomedov.

FIGHT ISLAND — Javier Mendez listed three fighters to potentially replace Khabib Nurmagomedov when the UFC lightweight champion finally retires from mixed martial arts.

Mendez, the founder of the American Kickboxing Academy (AKA) in San Jose, is Nurmagomedov's long-time trainer, and will be cornering for the Russian at UFC 254 in Abu Dhabi on Saturday.

Victory over American striker Justin Gaethje would advance Nurmagomedov's unbeaten record to 29 wins — and it has been rumored that he could be tempted to take a legacy fight, potentially against Georges St. Pierre, before retiring from the sport forever.

Another famous AKA graduate, former two-weight UFC champion Daniel Cormier, said at a Fight Island media day Thursday, that alongside Luke Rockhold and Cain Velasquez, he established AKA as a place where champions practise.

But Cormier added that Nurmagomedov, one of the most dominant fighters the UFC has ever seen, has taken AKA's reputation to another level.

At the same media day, Mendez said there are three Dagestani fighters close to Nurmagomedov who could help fill the void should he retire next year.

They are:

1. Islam Makhachev — A lightweight in the UFC with a record of 18 wins (three knockouts, seven submissions, eight decisions) against one loss.
2. Umar Nurmagomedov — A featherweight recently signed to the UFC with an unbeaten record of 12 wins (one knockout, five submissions, and six decisions)
3. Usman Nurmagomedov — A lightweight recently signed to Bellator MMA with an unbeaten record of 11 wins (seven knockouts, three submissions, and one decision)

"On Khabib's side, he's got Islam Makhachev who is fighting against Rafael dos Anjos," Mendez said.

Makhachev only has one loss, a knockout in 2015, and is on a six-fight win streak. He was supposed to fight dos Anjos on Saturday at UFC 254 but the bout has been postponed until November 14 after dos Anjos tested positive for coronavirus.

It will be Makhachev's sternest test yet. "Expect Islam to be victorious," Mendez said confidently this week.

Elsewhere, Mendez expects Nurmagomedov's family members to excel in the various MMA organizations — particularly Usman Nurmagomedov — who he seemed particularly excited about.

"Umar, his cousin, another undefeated guy. His other cousin, Usman, signed with Bellator and I think he's going to be a superstar, with time.

"Expect Usman to be the Luke Rockhold of Dagestan because the guy has got it all."

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