Khabib advises Makhachev to ‘be nice’ when someone shows you respect

Khabib Nurmagomedov advised Islam Makhachev to “be nice” when someone shows you respect, following the Dagestani fighter’s heated exchange with Ian Machado Garry at the UFC 330 press conference.

The flare-up came after Garry attempted to answer a question about Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov on Islam’s behalf. Dagestani welterweight champion abruptly cut him off, saying, “Please, shut up.”

The clip of the exchange quickly went viral, particularly because the Irishman was not criticising the Dagestani team but was instead speaking respectfully, making Makhachev’s response seem even more blunt.

Makhachev later explained the incident, saying he simply could not hear what Garry was saying because the crowd was buzzing.

Makhachev said, “Bro, honestly, I don’t hear nothing there and I don’t understand what he said,” before adding, “It’s no disrespect. It’s okay, bro.”

Khabib was not buying the excuse without handing out a little older-brother heat. “The Eagle” jokingly said that he had paid for his teammates’ English teachers and they still learned nothing.

“I told these guys, brother, I pay for the English teachers one year. They don’t learn nothing. Young Garry was talking very nicely about him. He said, ‘Shut up. Be nice, brother,” Khabib said.

Then came the cleaner coaching point. Khabib said, “Brother, sometime maybe you don’t like somebody, but when somebody give you respect, just at least be quiet. Don’t say shut up.”

Makhachev will defend his title for the first time against Ireland's Ian Garry (17-1) at Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia on Saturday.

Islam (28-1) moved to the welterweight division after defending his lightweight title four times in the UFC. He dethroned Jack Della Maddalena to win the 170-pound crown last year.

Gary, 28, is ranked number one in the welterweight division, and last fought in November, defeating Belal Muhammad, and has won 10 of 11 UFC bouts since joining in 2021 after Cage Warriors success.