Eric Nicksick Discusses Khabib Nurmagomedov’s 'Invite Only' Training Sessions

As a coach, Khabib Nurmagomedov is known for running a very tight ship. Belal Muhammad recently just learned firsthand how strict Nurmagomedov’s workouts can be.

Xtreme Couture head coach Eric Nicksick recently revealed details of one of Nurmagomedov’s “invite only” training sessions that he attended at the UFC Performance Institute in Las Vegas. Nicksick said that Nurmagomedov’s training sessions are extremely strict, with everyone laser focused only on training throughout. Nicksick admits drawing valuable insights from those practices regarding changes he can implement at his own gym.

“It’s invite only… It’s very serious, but very regimented. There’s no music, there’s no bulls—ing. Like, they’re not there to talk s—t with one another and joke around,” Nicksick told Red Corner MMA. “You’re there and it’s work, from the moment you step on the mat until the moment you’re off the mat…It taught me a lot on how to improve some of our things that we’re doing here at Xtreme [Couture].”

Nicksick further detailed an episode where Muhammad learned a lesson from Nurmagomedov in a stern yet humorous manner. Nurmagomedov seemingly didn’t like the fact that “Remember the Name” brought an unknown, uninvited guest to practice. While Nurmagomedov appeared to be joking while letting Muhammad know about it, one could tell that the former UFC lightweight champ was being serious at the same time. Nurmagomedov eventually let the guy train but not without a check, which led Nicksick to contemplate about his own flexibility in letting people into Xtreme Couture.

“One of the funny things too is that Belal Muhammad brought a guest that wasn’t cleared by Khabib and then, like Khabib, was not happy about that,” Nicksick said. “It just kind of made me realize that I sometimes open my doors too much [for] a lot of people to come and train. That they don’t get vetted through the system. That stood out to me how he handled that situation.

“It was kind of like you could feel like he was joking, but he wasn’t. He was serious about it and Belal was like, ‘Ohh dude I’m so sorry.’ You know and he goes ‘I don’t know who this guy is.' Khabib and I are sitting here and he kind of looks at me and he’s like, ‘Yeah Eric you’re gonna let a guy in your gym that you don’t know? Maybe he’s fighting one of your guys.’ Like just punking Belal in front of everybody, it was funny. Obviously Khabib let the guy still continue to train. There was a process to that.”