18-year-old Dagestani social media and TikTok star Hasbulla Magomedov has made a big name for himself in the combat sports community and is widely known as his nickname “Mini Khabib”, for his impersonations of the mixed martial arts legend.
However, not many fans were aware of the fact that Hasbulla was not the first to earn the miniature moniker of the former UFC Lightweight champion. In fact, it was another teenager, a 14-year-old girl named Kylie Meade, who had earned the nickname years before Hasbulla became famous.
So who is Kylie Meade?
An MMA trainee, Kylie Meade is Khabib’s biggest fan
Hasbulla may have been famous as “Mini Khabib” in 2021, but the nickname was originally bestowed to Kylie Meade all the way back in 2017, during the buildup to UFC 209, in which Khabib was slated to face Tony Ferguson but it ultimately didn’t take place after Khabib pulled out due to medical issues.
A mixed martial arts practitioner herself, Meade had met her idol during a fan Q&A session during the pre-fight days, where the girl asked the Dagestani about why he wears his iconic Papakha hat, which was chosen as the best question.
Khabib had gifted Meade his hat, and she further elaborated that she had been his fan since his UFC 205 fight against Michael Johnson which had taken place in November 2016. Since gaining fame amongst the combat sports fandom, Meade slowly earned her iconic nickname.
The 14-year-old is very active about the latest happenings in UFC, and on her Instagram, she often shares clips of her training drills, tributes to his idol, and much more. She often wears the Papakha hat and has even met with some of the biggest faces in MMA to dates, such as Rose Namajunas, Sean O’Malley, Justin Gaethje, Brian Ortega, and many more.
Her Instagram handle carries the nickname, where she currently has over 106k followers.
On the other hand, Hasbulla Magomedov emerged as the new “Mini Khabib” due to his similarities and impersonations with his fellow Dagestani. The teenager, who suffers from dwarfism, recreated Khabib’s iconic UFC 229 weigh-in.
The resemblance was astoundingly similar, as he perfectly imitated Khabib’s entrance walk, as well as flexing and even pointing towards the sky, which won the hearts of Khabib’s fans. He was also seen brawling with his pet monkey, which is another throwback to how “The Eagle” himself fought bears during his childhood.
