Song Yadong’s right uppercut folded Umar Nurmagomedov late in round two at UFC Fight Night: Nurmagomedov vs. Song on 29 August, stopping the Dagestani bantamweight at 1:48 for the first time in his career. Two weeks earlier, in Philadelphia, Islam Makhachev had needed the full 25 minutes to hold onto the welterweight title against Ian Machado Garry.

Makhachev’s unanimous-decision win at UFC 330 on 15 August extended his UFC streak to a record 17 and made him only the fifth two-division champion to make successful title defences in both divisions. The scorecards read 49-46, 49-46 and 48-47, and for the first time in years he looked stretched.

Those two nights are the trigger for a Sherdog opinion piece by Dayne Fox, published on 4 September, which argues that the camp’s grip on the sport may finally be loosening. Fox writes that Makhachev “appeared more vulnerable than at any previous point during his record-setting winning streak,” and that Umar’s knockout comes on top of his January 2025 title-fight loss to Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 311.

A dynasty built from Dagestan to San Jose

The empire in question was not built by Khabib. His late father Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov trained him from childhood and set up the pipeline that funnelled Dagestani prospects into American Kickboxing Academy in San Jose, where Javier Mendez runs the day-to-day work. Khabib, now the group’s most visible coach, has been in Makhachev’s corner throughout his championship run.

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The reach beyond the two headline names is where the argument bites. Umar, a first cousin of Khabib, is now 20-2 in MMA and had entered the Song fight as a heavy favourite. Flyweight contender Tagir Ulanbekov, Fox notes, “appears to have fallen short of early expectations,” and several other prospects tied to the camp have not established themselves in the UFC.

The Shanghai KO and its aftermath

The finish itself was not clean drama. Song, a substantial underdog, had a cut opened by an accidental head clash moments before landing the uppercut, then celebrated inside a cage that briefly filled up with Umar’s corner.

Usman Nurmagomedov, Umar’s brother and cornerman, was reported to have thrown an elbow in Song’s direction as the winner sprinted past. Song, meanwhile, was in no mood to soften the verdict.

“I knocked out Umar. Everybody’s saying he’s the best fighter. See what happened? I knocked him out,” he said afterward.

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Usman himself remains the family’s outlier. The PFL lightweight champion, unbeaten across 22 professional fights, improved to 22-0 with a first-round finish of Archie Colgan at PFL New York on 31 July, another defence of his lightweight title.

What the losses do not settle

Nothing about a single knockout retires a coaching philosophy, and Makhachev’s night in Philadelphia still ended with the belt. Fox himself allows the caveat.

“Khabib has repeatedly demonstrated that counting him out is unwise, even when he is no longer the one competing,” he writes.

Makhachev’s next opponent has not been announced, with Fox floating Carlos Prates and Michael Morales as possibilities. Umar’s return will hinge on the outcome of the Petr Yan-Dvalishvili trilogy fight set for UFC 333.

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