Khabib's focus and Justin's confidence: how was the weigh-in ceremony before the Nurmagomedov-Gatji fight

There is only one day left until the UFC 254 tournament, in the main duel of which the Russian Khabib Nurmagomedov and the American Justin Gaji will meet.

An official weigh-in ceremony took place on "Fight Island" in Abu Dhabi, after which the athletes were officially allowed to participate in the battles.

The lightweight category limit is 70.3 kg.

The difficulty of fights for the championship belt lies in the fact that opponents have no right to exceed this indicator, unlike participants in any other card meetings.

That is why the weight race is one of the hardest and most important components of training.

Nurmagomedov was the first to appear on the scene.

A few days ago, coach Javier Mendes reassured the fans of the Russian, stating that the process of losing extra pounds is going according to plan, and the fighter himself weighs even less than in the same period of time before his previous fight with Dustin Poirier.

And yet, the state of Khabib the day before the fight caused some concern.

He looked tired, walked slowly onto the platform, and his face showed concentration and even excitement.

Approaching the scales, the Russian asked to bring him a screen to take off excess clothes.

Later, an explanation appeared in the media.

TASS, citing a source in the fighter's team, said that over the past six days, the Russian dropped 8.5 kg.

Moreover, 3 kg - immediately in the morning before the ceremony.

However, for the time remaining before the battle, he intends to return the lost mass and gain about 9 kg.

Many paid attention to how Nurmagomedov climbed on the scales.

He had to resort to the help of the UFC staff and lean on their arms.

This again gave reason to assume that the weight-race took too much of his strength.

His extremely bad experience immediately came to mind before the fight with Tony Ferguson in 2017.

The athlete was exhausted to such an extent that he was hospitalized even before weighing in and withdrew from the tournament.

But this time everything went well.

The holder of the championship belt has met the limit.

After the announcement of the cherished numbers, Nurmagomedov exhaled, and the excitement on his face gave way to obvious relief.

At the same time, he remained extremely focused, did not allow emotions to prevail over him and quickly left the platform.

It is worth noting that Nurmagomedov also had slight weight problems before the fight with Porye.

At the ceremony, he seemed emaciated, and in order to fit into the limit, he had to take off his shorts.

However, already in the octagon, he looked much better than his opponent and won a well-deserved victory.

Then Gatji entered the stage.

Unlike his opponent, he looked quite fresh, and the weigh-in went smoothly.

The American did not have to resort to extreme measures, and the scales showed the necessary figures - 155 pounds.

As for another Russian, heavyweight Alexander Volkov, who is also preparing to fight at UFC 254, he met the limit, showing the maximum allowable 120.2 kg (265 lb.

).

His rival American Walt Harris was 5 kg lighter.

The restrictions due to the coronavirus pandemic also affected traditional events at the UFC tournament.

If the last few years the weigh-in ceremony lasted for a whole day and was a whole show, in which not only fighters, but also fans took part, this time everything was held in a more modest format.

So, immediately after the weigh-in, the athletes took part in the final duel of views.

Nurmagomedov and Gatji treat each other with great respect, which they have repeatedly demonstrated in their interviews.

Therefore, the next face-to-face meeting took place without any incidents.

Justin was the first to appear on the stage, after a while Khabib joined him in a traditional hat.

At the command of Dana White, the fighters stood face to face.

None of them tried to provoke an opponent, so the UFC president didn't even have to hold them back.

In conclusion, the Russian and the American shook hands, posed in front of the cameras and parted.

After the event, Gaethje spoke about his plans for the fight.

He especially noted Nurmagomedov's stance and striking technique and said that he intends to fight to the last in the octagon, if necessary.

“If one man will hold me down, then the second can run up and do anything with me.

So here, as in life, you shouldn't let this be done.

I will go to the collision, do whatever I want so that Khabib cannot keep me.

I will be as aggressive as possible, I will be asking for trouble, I will not let him do it, "- quotes the words of Gatji TASS.