Video: Fedor Emelianenko, Khabib Nurmagomedov Cross Paths at Road to Dubai

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Bellator MMA (@bellatormma)

Two of the sport’s all-time greats took time to exchange pleasantries backstage at Road to Dubai on Saturday.

In a video posted on the Bellator MMA Instagram account, Fedor Emelianenko and Khabib Nurmagomedov are seen exchanging pleasantries and posing for a photo in the locker room at the Coca-Cola Arena. Emelianenko was on hand to corner Vadim Nemkov in the co-main event, while Nurmagomedov was coaching a number of Dagestani fighters — most notably lightweight champion Usman Nurmagomedov.

Emelianenko is a former Pride Fighting Championships standout who is widely regarded as perhaps the best heavyweight in MMA history. He famously went unbeaten in 28 consecutive fights from 2001 to 2009.

Nurmagomedov, meanwhile, retired from the sport in 2020 as the reigning UFC lightweight champion. “The Eagle” went 29-0 over the course of a career that began in 2008. Like Emelianenko, the Dagestani star is considered to be one of the top pound-for-pound talents of all-time.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Gorilla Fighting Energy || MMA (@gorillafighting)