Problems with Volkov’s rival and cancellation of Minakov’s battle

The next duel of Alexander Volkov in his homeland was in jeopardy. On November 9, he was due to meet with Junior dos Santos as part of the Moscow UFC Fight Night tournament. However, three weeks before this event, it became known that the Brazilian was forced to abandon the performance. This was reported by representatives of the Russian team, adding that the American Derrick Lewis could become the most preferred replacement for the opponent.

Manager Ivan Bannikov hastened to assure that Volkov would certainly enter the octagon in Moscow. Now his team is awaiting a response from UFC management.

“We are ready to fight. And we will definitely be offered a replacement. Three more weeks before the battle, enough time. You can comrade with an inhaler! I'm talking about Greg Hardy. Joke. What else is Hardy? If the UFC transfers the fight between Lewis and Blagoy Ivanov and gives Derrick us a rematch, everyone will be happy, ”Sport-Express quotes Bannikova.

According to the MMA Fighting portal, a bacterial infection in the leg was the cause of Santos dos failure. It is reported that he has been in the hospital for several days, where he underwent a drainage procedure. At the same time, the UFC’s Russian office refused to comment on the situation surrounding this fight.

“I would like to, but I can’t. Nothing yet. Not about what happened, nor about whether there will be a replacement. We ourselves need to figure out what is going on inside ourselves. As soon as this happens, I will return with a comment, ”said the head of the Russian UFC, Andrei Gromkovsky.

At the moment, Lewis is the last opponent in Volkov’s career. The fighters met in early October last year at the UFC 229 tournament in Las Vegas. Then the American won by knockout in three rounds.

After this defeat, he was supposed to have a fight in St. Petersburg with Alistair Overeem, but he also did not take place due to health problems of the Russian. Instead, his compatriot Alexei Oleinik stepped into the octagon, losing to the legendary Dutchman.

If Volkov still has chances to conduct the planned battle, then his compatriot Vitaly Minakov’s situation is much worse. October 26 in Ancasville, he was supposed to meet with the American Xavi Ayala, but at the last moment the athlete had problems obtaining a visa to the United States.

Minakov expressed bewilderment over the incident. According to him, the embassy should not have reasons for refusing to issue a document.

“Recently, information came that my documents were sent for reconsideration. Yesterday, the manager called me and said that I was withdrawn from the battle. I think that in the end I will have a visa, since I have already received it many times, before there were no problems. It is a pity that the preparation was wasted, ”TASS quoted Minakov as saying.

Master class for Nurmagomedov and mockery of Makhachev

While the next rival and the date of the fight of the UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov are unknown, he can enjoy free time. On his well-deserved vacation, the Russian travels a lot and has already managed to visit Saudi Arabia and Turkey. In Istanbul, he went to the restaurant of the famous chef Burak Ozdemir and took from him a master class on cooking local dishes.

Ozdemir is famous for its unusual approach to cooking, which combines many different ingredients. He uploads videos of the process on his Instagram page, to which 11.5 million people are subscribed.

The cook’s originality was also revealed at the meeting with Khabib. He joked several times at the guest, pretending to have a hot pan and a tray with cups falling from his hands. Despite the fact that the tricks really made the MMA fighter and his friends worried, everyone was satisfied in the evening and spent dinner in high spirits.

View this Instagram post

An interesting evening in Istanbul with the brothers. This guy @cznburak is familiar to many movers. The evening ended with Turkish-Dagestan jokes😊 Thank you hospitality brother @kefayetvahab #burak

Posted by Tagir Ulanbekov (@tagir_ulanbekov) Oct 21, 2019 at 12:56 pm PDT

It is no secret that Nurmagomedov himself was not averse to joking about his friends. On a page on Instagram, he posted a photograph in which he plays football with another UFC representative and member of his team, Islam Makhachev.

“In my opinion, 6 years have passed, but until now Islam Makhachev could not assemble a team, they would have taken revenge for that game. Write where you are now, brother, ”Habib signed the post.

Makhachev’s response was not long in coming.

“This was the only time you won football, and that’s because you played for me,” the fighter joked.

McGregor's criticism and challenge to Jones

Recently, relations between Nurmagomedov and former UFC featherweight and lightweight champion Conor McGregor have again deteriorated. Athletes exchanged caustic remarks about each other, and the reason for them was the words of the head of promotion Dana White. According to the functionary, the Russian earned the right to choose his rivals for himself, and the Irishman is at the bottom of the list of applicants for the title battle.

On the side of the Russian in this conflict stood another representative of the lightweight category, Frankie Edgar.

“Conor destroyed his image of a tough guy in a fight with Habib. Nurmagomedov is completely sincere that the topic with McGregor is fundamental for him. I trained with many Dagestanis, they comply with the code of honor. You can not say what the Irishman allowed himself. The Russian behaves like a gentleman, which proves his communication with Dustin Porrier, ”Edgar told the Breaking Bread with Nick Turturro Youtube channel.

In mid-October, McGregor hinted that he wanted to meet Edgar in the octagon. However, White said that the likelihood of such a fight is extremely small, since the American is a contender for the lightweight champion belt.

One of the main contenders for the fight with Nurmagomedov is former interim UFC champion Tony Ferguson. However, while certainty on this issue did not appear, the American decided to try his luck with a new rival and challenged the leader of the consolidated rating of the promotion John Jones.

“You're talking nonsense, John. Want to play again like we did in college? I went up in two weight categories and will do it again. Do you want to play chess? I'm the one you need. I'll checkmate you in two moves, ”Ferguson tweeted.