Before the UFC 242 tournament in Abu Dhabi, in which Habib Nurmagomedov will once again defend the champion title in a duel with Dustin Porier, it remains a little over a month. An obligatory attribute on the eve of such a significant event for mixed martial arts is the appearance of an official tournament poster.
On the poster Nurmagomedov and Pore are depicted in profile so that they look menacingly at each other. The names of the fighters are written in gold letters between their faces, as well as a reminder that this fight will determine the world champion in lightweight. The importance of the upcoming fight is also indicated by the UFC champion’s belt, which is located on Nurmagomedov’s shoulder. Publishing a poster on Instagram has collected more than 400 thousand likes.
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Publication from ufc (@ufc) July 31, 2019 at 7:01 PDT
The UFC 242 firecard officially includes 11 fights, but recently three more battles have been announced, which will take place in Abu Dhabi. At the same time in each of them will be Russian wrestlers. Adam Yandiev will hold the second consecutive match in the UFC outside the United States. A year ago, he was defeated by Jordan Jones at a tournament in Moscow and now will try to rehabilitate himself in a meeting with Pune Soriano, who led only six battles in mixed martial arts for his career.
Also, Nommagomedov’s match will be preceded by Magomed Mustafayev, who held the most spectacular fight of the evening at the UFC tournament in St. Petersburg. After meeting with Rafael Fiziev, a native of Dagestan will fight with South African Don Meij. Finally, Russian fans will also be pleased by the appearance of Omari Akhmedov in Abu Dhabi. He will fight in Octagon with Zach Cummings. Both fighters have recently switched to medium weight and have not yet suffered a single defeat.
Nurmagomedov, meanwhile, continues to prepare for his fight. While at the training camp, he said that he was training with one of the legends of MMA, Daniel Cormier. The Russian wrestler admitted that the 40-year-old heavyweight champion is a source of inspiration for him.
“We have been doing this for a long time, every day we work a lot. Hard work pays off. That is why we are on top of this game. I am glad to see how 40-year-old Daniel Cormier works hard in training, it really inspires, ”wrote Nurmagomedov on Instagram.
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Publication from Khabib Nurmagomedov (@khabib_nurmagomedov) July 31, 2019 at 9:50 PDT
In turn, Porye will now talk about his preparation for the title fight with an undefeated Russian wrestler weekly in his blog. In the first issue, the American athlete admitted that he had not entered the ring for a long time with any plan to fight, sorting out his future opponent only superficially.
“I'm trying to remember when I last had a plan to fight. Perhaps it was ten fights ago. I can not remember when I last used the plan or thought something like: “This is what I’ll definitely have to do.” I do not do that. This will be my 32nd fight in MMA. I just need to win. Of course, we take notes, discuss the strengths of the opponent, what I need to work on and how I can succeed in the ring. But I do not use a plan for a duel, ”Pore said to MMA Junkie.
The wrestler also recalled that he was impressed by Nurmagomedov’s confidence when he met him at a press conference and ran into him in a battle of opinions.
“Habib looked confident at the press conference, as he should. He is as great as I imagined him before the battle of views. But I do not pay attention to it. I saw guys who were self-assured and loud, and then they pressed tails in fights. I saw guys who poured nervous sweat and were not self-confident, and then they became invincible, ”the wrestler noted.
Finally, he declared that he respects his rival and feels the same attitude towards himself from Nurmagomedov, but at the same time considers the duel with him as one of many.
“We are waiting for a very important fight, but so far the preparation is going on quite calmly. For me, it's better this way, but let's see what happens next. First, another tournament will take place, and then they will start actively promoting ours. To be honest, for me this is just another fight. Respect must be earned, and we have mutual respect due to what we both achieved in our careers. We are two professionals and two teasers who know what to expect from each other. We know what work awaits us, and we respect the upcoming fight. We both work a lot to be in the best shape on September 7th, ”concluded Porier.
However, the contender for the championship belt will not be considered a favorite, I'm sure the Russian wrestler Peter Jan. He left a forecast for the fight and gave preference to his compatriot.
"I think that the Hub will win," wrote an athlete on Instagram when fans asked him about it.