Training Nurmagomedov

Less than a month remains before the fight for the UFC lightweight champion title in which the current belt holder Khabib Nurmagomedov will fight with Dustin Porrier. Currently, the Russian fighter is systematically preparing for a fight at his American Kickboxing Academy (AKA) camp in the United States, and will leave for Abu Dhabi on August 21, where he will hold the final stage of training.

Currently, Habib is training under the guidance of AKA mentor Javier Mendes, but his father will join him in Abu Dhabi. Due to visa problems, Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov could not support his son during the fights in the United States, but in the UAE for the first time in a long time he will be in the corner of the champion.

“Unlike the United States, it is much easier to get to the Emirates, no problems with a visa. Therefore, many of our fans will be able to attend this fight, tickets have been bought in advance ... For us it’s like a home match: not only will there be 21 people from our team, many relatives, just compatriots and countrymen will fly there, ”Nurmagomedov Sr. quotes“ Soviet sport. "

Abdulmanap paid tribute to the shock technique of the American, but at the same time expressed confidence in the victory of Habib.

“There should not be any underestimation of the opponent. Moreover, he has a time zone, and he claims to be the absolute champion. I approach each person in detail. In our “defeat” column, the number is “zero”. I want this to be the end of our career. Each time, I feel our responsibility to the fans more and more, ”said the father of the Russian.

Possible rival Jan

At the end of July, Frankie Edgar lost the decision to Max Holloway in the main match of the UFC 240 tournament, which took place in the Canadian city of Edmonton. A mixed martial arts veteran suffered his seventh defeat in his career and missed a second chance at becoming a featherweight champion. In 2013, he fought for the belt with Jose Aldo, but then the referees sided with the Brazilian athlete. Thus, the 37-year-old veteran was never able to fulfill his dream and win honorary titles in two divisions at once. From 2010 to 2012, he owned the lightweight title until he lost to Benson Henderson.

However, Edgar did not intend to part with the hope of replenishing the club of fighters who became champions in two divisions, as a result of which he expressed his intention to move to the lightest weight. In the case of an athlete whose height is 168 cm, this decision was a long time ago, because earlier Franky often had to fight opponents who were noticeably superior in size. For comparison, Holloway's height is 180 cm.

In the bantamweight, opponents of comparable size are waiting for him, which may allow him to demonstrate his strongest qualities. At 37, Edgar retained both a knockout punch and brilliant wrestling skills, which could very well help him to break into the elite of the category.

Apparently, in the new weight, Edgar will not have a shortage of opponents. Many top fighters will not refuse to fight with the famous counterpart, and some have already managed to express interest in the battle with him. So, Peter Jan was one of the first to say this, to whom the UFC has not yet approved the next match. The Russian posted on his Twitter page news about the transition of Frankie to a new weight and provided him with a characteristic emoji, indicating his readiness to meet with the American.

🙋‍♂️ https://t.co/jJTm0ZRfUG

- Petr “No Mercy” Yan (@PetrYanUFC) August 8, 2019

Title fight and scandal involving Covington

In recent years, Colby Covington has become one of the most talked about, yet odious fighters in the world of MMA. The American managed to be remembered for numerous insults against his opponents, racist statements against Brazilians, as well as high-profile scandals, in particular, with UFC President Dana White. In the absence of Conor McGregor, he replaced him as the most shocking representative of mixed martial arts, and on the eve he once again confirmed this status and was expelled from the radio station.

So, Covington became a guest of the talk show “MMA Tonight”, one of the presenters of which is former UFC bantamweight champion Misha Tate. At first, the conversation was quite respectful, but later the girl asked how Colby could simultaneously call his former opponent Robbie Lawler a “legend”, and at the same time insult other athletes. This pissed Colby off and became the start of the conflict live.

So, Covington accused Tate of hypocrisy and said that she was known only because of “defeat in the battle with Ronda Rousey” and “photos on the network”. Thus, he recalled how several years ago, hackers posted personal pictures of a girl of erotic content on the Internet.

For the athlete stood up the second presenter of the program, Ryan McKinnell. He first called on Covington to respect Tate, and then stated that Colby would never again receive an invitation to the show.

However, this behavior does not particularly interfere with the career of a fighter. So, last weekend he won an impressive victory over former UFC welterweight champion Robbie Lawler and in the near future will receive the right to fight for the title with Nigerian Kamaru Usman. This was announced by White himself.

“That's why at the ESPN tournament I put Covington against a fighter like Lawler. You can say anything about Colby, no matter how you feel about him, he performed very well in a fight with the beast Robbie, who participated in all major battles, was the world champion, demolishes everyone like a truck. But he did it, ”the UFC president quotes MMA Fighting.

White did not specify the exact date of the match between Covington and Usman, but did not deny that he could pass at the UFC 244 tournament, which will be held in New York in November.

Note that, after defeating Lawler, Covington received a phone call from US President Donald Trump, who again invited him to visit the White House.

White quarrel with Saiborg

Moreover, not only Covington becomes a participant in various kinds of conflict situations. One of the hottest confrontations of recent months in MMA has unfolded between Dana White and Cristina Justino, nicknamed Saiborg. The relationship between the Brazilian and the UFC leadership has always been strained, but recently the tension has reached its climax. The reason for the quarrel was the words of the functionary that the athlete refuses revenge with Amanda Nunez and wants to hold fights with opponents of a much lower level.

White and Saiborg for a long time talked about the desire to break off business relations, and the last straw was the video published on the girl’s YouTube channel, in which the head of the promotion was not presented in the best light. At it, Dana allegedly agrees that he lied to the media about Christina’s unwillingness to fight with Amanda and makes excuses for this. In this case, the dialogue is shown in the form of subtitles.

However, later Justino herself admitted that the video was specially edited by her team in order to discredit White. Subsequently, she apologized to him, but the head of the UFC was clearly determined to quickly get rid of the obstinate athlete and hastened to free her from the contract with the promotion.

“All the time while Sayborg was with us, talking with her was a nightmare. Collaboration with her has not been successful since the very first day. We brought her to the UFC after she got caught using steroids, but using the best methods in the history of combating the use of illicit drugs, we made her a “clean” athlete, ”White quotes MMA Junkie.

The UFC president, in a very emotional manner, confirmed that Justino had refused offers to hold a rematch with Nunez and condemned her team’s decision to edit the video.

“Sayborg and I can hardly reconcile. Whether I like you or not, it makes no difference. She acted low. What she did with the video and its content is meanness. However, she says that it would be better for me to apologize to her. What more. She herself apologized to me ... I almost nailed her to make me do it. Literally, ”White concluded.