As a longtime friend and coach of Khabib Nurmagomedov’s at the American Kickboxing Academy, Daniel Cormier had plenty of stake in UFC 229’s main event.
Cormier was cageside to witness firsthand Nurmagomedov’s blockbuster victory over Conor McGregor earlier this month in Las Vegas. In perhaps the most impressive performance of Nurmagomedov’s career, the undefeated Dagestani champion dominated McGregor from pillar to post before submitting McGregor with a fourth-round neck crank to defend his lightweight title in a fight that shattered the UFC’s previous pay-per-view record. And although the post-fight brawl between Nurmagomedov’s and McGregor’s teams may have overshadowed the event, when it came to what actually mattered, Cormier couldn’t have been more proud of the way his teammate dispatched the sport’s biggest star.