So connected are Daniel Cormier and Khabib Nurmagomedov after eight years together on the mats at American Kickboxing Academy, they instantly start wrestling after reuniting.
Cormier likes to say he taught Nurmagomedov a jab – with an assist from AKA head coach Javier Mendez – that made the UFC lightweight champion more than a guy good at slapping on the Dagestani handcuffs.
When he was still a professional fighter, Cormier said, there were questions about whether he could objectively call UFC bouts involving his teammates like Nurmagomedov. And to eliminate any concerns, he said no to commentating them.