Report: Nurmagomedov's father denied U.S. visa ahead of UFC 209

A key part of Khabib Nurmagomedov's crew won't be with him as he heads into the biggest fight of his life on Saturday.

Nurmagomedov's father, Abdulmanap, has been denied a U.S. visa just five days before his son's interim lightweight title fight vs. Tony Ferguson at UFC 209 in Las Vegas, according to a report from Bloody Elbow's Karim Zidan citing Russian news site Life.ru.

Zidan mentions that Abdulmanap has never actually cornered one of his son's fights, but was expected to do so this weekend.

Abdulmanap has previously been able to travel to the United States to visit Khabib, a Russian Muslim who currently trains with the American Kickboxing Academy in San Jose, Calif. No reason was given for the denial, though it is typical for fighters from the North Caucasus region to have issues with acquiring visas, per Zidan.

While Abdulmanap does not have an official role on Khabib's team, he was his first martial arts trainer and remains a close confidant who regularly advises and comments on his son's career.