The Siblings from the Dagestani Region Making Their Mark in Mixed Martial Arts and with Man Utd.

Ibragim Ibragimov smiles as he reflects on how his family's life has evolved since relocating to England from Dagestan in 2017.

"I adore it here," the PFL star declares.

"We always comment, 'this is the nation I should have been born in.'"

The young man left his homeland in the Caucasus region of Russia as his father believed a relocation spanning more than 3,000 miles offered superior career prospects for him and his siblings.

The original plan was for Ibragim and his three brothers – Amir (17), Gazik (16), and Muhammad (15) – to finish their education before joining one of the nation's universities.

However, reality now looks somewhat different for the Ibragimov family.

Ibragim is now a professional MMA athlete and is viewed as one of the prime talents in the PFL, a leading MMA organization.

His brothers have taken a different route in sport and have each been contracted by Manchester United – with Amir pushing for a place in the first team.

"Our key goal for us is to extract the maximum from our chosen fields," explains Ibragim.

"I want them to represent all of the finest teams in the world. Now it is Man United, tomorrow it could be a different team."

Starting as Grapplers to Soccer Talents

Situated in southern Russia, Dagestan holds a mystical status among fight fans for generating a host of UFC titleholders in recent years.

The area has a long tradition in grappling, excelling in the combat sambo style and producing a host of Olympic and world winners.

This success is no accident, however, as children from the region are frequently encouraged to take up combat sports, particularly wrestling, almost as soon as they can walk.

"When I was young, my dad was always instructing me and my younger brothers that we had to be powerful, firstly to defend ourselves, your family, and your companions," says Ibragim.

"Therefore we all got used to combat, and that's why people understands how to fight in Dagestan. It's unsurprising."

"Amir was a highly skilled wrestler. You can see the transition from wrestling to football; clearly, it assisted my younger brothers a great deal."

"Some of the footballers he comes up against don't have the identical base he has. That's why he's stocky, strong and incredibly competitive – because of wrestling."

Amir was just nine years old when he was put through his paces at Sheffield United. Not knowing of his actual age, coaches grouped him with boys significantly older.

He was unfazed by the oversight and was perfectly comfortable competing against older players thanks to his experience in wrestling.

"They thought Amir and I were the same age, so the story goes," says Ibragim.

Amir was signed, together with Ibragim's younger brothers Gazik and Muhammad.

The family's time in South Yorkshire was brief, though, as just weeks after joining the Blades, Manchester United learned of Amir's talent and he transferred over the Pennines consequently.

"They played Manchester United in a tournament and Amir netted a spectacular free-kick," recalls Ibragim.

"One of their scouts saw him play and picked him immediately."

Six years after joining the Old Trafford club and at the age of 15, Amir became one of the youngest players in the club's records to train with the first team when he achieved this in April 2023.

"Do you know what he said to me? 'This is where I should be'," Ibragim reveals.

"Can he be a first-team player for Manchester United? Absolutely. They need to let all the youthful players get game time right now."

"In my opinion they would play less effectively than the existing first-team players. I think the youngsters are hungrier than the present first-team players."

Since then, Gazik and Muhammad, the latter once on the books of Manchester City, have likewise made the move to Manchester United.

"Gazik, this youngster is gifted," adds Ibragim.

"He learned everything quicker than the others. He's a good defender. He's going to be similar to a new Rio Ferdinand for Man United."

'A Goal' to Compete at Old Trafford

Ibragim has now moved to Manchester and dedicates most of his days sharpening his MMA abilities at a local gym.

In August, he spent three weeks in his native region at Khabib Nurmagomedov's gym, assisting Islam Makhachev get ready for a late-year UFC title fight.

"I would never have imagined I would be learning under Khabib," Ibragim admits.

"He was the best fighter in the world – and we always used to look up to him when we were growing up."

"Today, I'm here in his gym and sparring alongside Islam Makhachev."

Fresh from training with two UFC titleholders from Dagestan, it is no surprise Ibragim says he is desperate to claim a world title of his own someday.

But that does not prevent him from sometimes dreaming of representing United and stepping out on the historic turf at Old Trafford, similar to his brothers.

"I owned a PlayStation at home and I always used to play as Man United, scoring goals with Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney and Carlos Tevez," he recalls.

"Today, for my brothers to be Man United players, it's similar to a fantasy realized."

"An event at Old Trafford? It's a dream for me. I was speaking to the PFL guys about it to see if they would do it. It would be enormous."