Confrontation between Magomedsharipov and Rodriguez
In the UFC, the scandal continues around the canceled fight between the Russian and Mexican fighters. Zabit Magomedsharipov made another statement and told what surrounded the organization of his fight with Rodriguez and why he concluded that Yair was avoiding meeting him. According to the fighter, talk about a duel has been going on for a long time, but the promotion's leadership took a suspiciously long delay in sending the official agreement. As Zabit himself stated, he received the contract less than a month before the tournament.
“It seems to me that Rodriguez stupidly merged with the fight, not wanting to fight me ... The talks that Yair and I should fight had been going on for a long time ... But I waited for a contract for a fight with him for a very long time, it was sent only on July 30. And still, until August 5, when information about his injury did not appear, there were no reports of our meeting with Rodriguez either from UFC officials, nor from himself or his team members ... Therefore, it seems that he was delaying this fight as best they could, and in the end they already thought of an injury, "Sport-Express quotes Magomedsharipov.
The words of the Russian make sense, because usually the Absolute Fighting Championship announces in advance about the holding of status fights, which should become the main event of the weekly show. However, sometimes there are exceptions, the number of which has increased dramatically during the coronavirus pandemic. For example, until now, it has been reported that two events of the Fight Night series will take place in early September, but at the moment there is no information on them on the official UFC website.
Nevertheless, the decision of the promotion not to rush to announce the duel between Magomedsharipov and Rodriguez may indicate that the matchmakers knew or suspected that the Mexican had health problems. It is worth noting that Yair is generally considered a fairly traumatic athlete and has previously withdrawn from fights. In 2018, it even cost him a contract with the UFC, but he was subsequently reinstated on the roster.
Earlier Magomedsharipov had already stated that one should not wait for his return to the cage in August. However, he admitted that he was ready to fight in the final show of the month, but none of his possible opponents agreed to fight within the category up to 65.7 kg.
“I was sent a contract for a five-round fight with Rodriguez, and I signed it. When information about the injury came, they began to negotiate a fight with Pettis or Max (Holloway. - RT ). But they didn't want to fight at 66 kilograms. And with my current weight, it made no sense for me to agree to a fight of 70 kilograms or more. But even if a fight with any of them took place, it would also consist of five rounds, ”said Magomedsharipov.
The Russian harshly assessed Rodriguez's behavior and once again expressed the opinion that the UFC was doing the wrong thing in relation to him.
“I don’t understand why they should keep me without fighting. It is unprofessional for them to force me to go to the peak of my form in vain without having a signed contract. If you cannot arrange a meeting with Rodriguez, then let me beat for the belt - as promised, ”concluded Magomedsharipov.
Disrupted revenge by Ankalaev
Personal fans of another Russian athlete will also have to wait a bit for him to return to the cage. At UFC 252, light heavyweight Magomed Ankalaev faced a return battle with Ion Cucelaba, but on August 9, the Moldovan tested positive for coronavirus and was forced to withdraw from the show. This was reported by MMA Fighting with reference to the athlete's manager Thiago Okamura.
At the moment, there are no official statements regarding the postponement of the fight, but the media report that the rematch between Ankalaev and Kutselaba will take place on August 29 - at the very tournament where Magomedsharipov was supposed to perform. Given the composition of the participants, this battle will most likely become part of the main card and one of the three main ones. Only the duels between Robbie Lawler and Neil Magni, as well as between Anthony Smith and Alexander Rakich, look more status-conscious.
It is worth recalling that the first duel between Ankalaev and Kutselaba took place at UFC Fight Night Norfolk in February and ended in a scandal. Already at the 38th second, the referee Kevin MacDonald credited the Moldovan with a technical knockout defeat, which caused indignation among the local public. By this time, although he received serious damage, he was not only conscious, but also continued to exchange blows in a standing position. Many considered the stop to be extremely controversial, which forced the matchmakers to appoint a revenge.
It is noteworthy that the battle has been postponed for the second time due to the coronavirus. Initially, it was supposed to take place on the undercard of the fight between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson at UFC 249, but the show was first canceled and then postponed due to coronavirus.
Valiev's delayed debut
Already on August 22, another Russian fighter can hold his first fight under the auspices of the Absolute Fighting Championship. According to TASS, Timur Valiev will fight Mark Strigl within the framework of UFC Vegas 7. The domestic athlete said that the promotion offered him a meeting with the Filipino, but at the same time admitted that he had not yet signed the contract.
Valiev is a teammate of Magomedsharipov and a former participant of the Professional Fighters League (PFL) Grand Prix in featherweight. The Russian even went through the first round, but then received an injury that prevented him from continuing to compete. Nevertheless, he spent the last two fights in his native bantamweight and took the upper hand twice, extending the successful streak to six fights. It is worth recalling that initially Timur was supposed to debut in the largest MMA promotion of the planet at UFC Vegas 5, but due to visa problems he could not fly to the United States.
As for his counterpart, Strigl became famous for his performances in the Thai organization ONE FC, but his ticket to the Absolute Fighting Championship was secured by winning the featherweight title in the local Philippine URCC promotion. At the moment, his track record includes 18 victories, two defeats, and one more duel was declared invalid. During the first belt defense, Mark accidentally punched Shunichi Shimitsu in the groin. The hit was so strong that the Japanese could not continue the battle.