In a recent event in Phuket, Thailand, UFC legend Khabib Nurmagomedov spoke about education, parenting, and the dangers of leaving children in the care of people parents know nothing about.
During a Q&A session, an attendee asked Khabib whether coaches should be empowered to hold athletes accountable for their academic performance, essentially linking training privileges to school results. Khabib agreed that this kind of collaboration matters, but he was clear about where the real responsibility lies.
“I think it should be done. It should be a collaboration between parents and a coach,” he said. “The influence should be between the parents and the son, and not between the coach and the son. Because the coach sees his student two or three hours a day. And the parents spend more time. So it is a duty of the parents.”
Khabib pointed to his own upbringing as an example, describing how his father always prioritized education above sport. “In my father’s school, in the first place, there was education. In the second place, education. In the third place, only sports.”
He then turned his attention to the modern school system, raising concerns about parents having little awareness of who is actually shaping their children during the school day.
“If your child is 14 years old and spends the whole day at school, from morning until evening, you might see them briefly in the morning and again at night,” he said. “But during those seven or eight hours at school, many parents don’t really know where their child is, who is educating them, what kind of environment they’re in, or who their teachers are.”
He then made a observation about the quality and mental state of some teachers.
“Sometimes there are teachers who are not mentally stable,” he said. “And imagine, someone who is mentally ill could be educating your child for five hours a day. Can you imagine that? And you might not even know who that person is, where they came from, or anything about them.”
Khabib noted that this problem has grown alongside new technology and social media, arguing that the last decade or so has produced more people struggling with behavioral and psychological issues.
“Unfortunately, with new technology and the kind of lifestyle that has developed over the last 10 to 15 years, we are seeing more people with serious mental health problems,” he said.
His message to parents was one of active involvement. He stressed that communication between parents, coaches, and children is essential, particularly during the teenage years.
“As I said at the beginning, communication is the key,” he said.
Khabib also reflected on what he would tell his younger self, saying he would place even greater emphasis on reading and learning.
“I would probably advise myself to spend even more time on education,” he said, recalling how his father carried books to training camps. “He didn’t just ask me to read them, he made me rewrite them by hand.”
[Editor’s Note: Quotes have been translated and edited for clarity and readability.]
