About father and mother
- It was not easy for him to educate me both as a son and as an athlete. Now that I have my children, I understand this very well. My father still plays a big role in my life, and family is above everything to me. As for my son, I would not want him to repeat my path. But if he chooses for himself martial arts, I will support him. The son will definitely train, but first of all, of course, to study, and then we'll see what he wants.
Mom is the most precious thing in life. She is always in the first place, the main thing is that the father does not see this (laughs. - RT ). She used to have a hard time. My brother and I practiced morning and evening; dirty things for training constantly lay at home. They needed to be washed, but there was no typewriter, it was required to do it manually. There was no hot water either, only cold. At the same time, mother sometimes could not obey, because she did not punish much, unlike her father. Now I regret it and listen to my mother more.
About study
- Many people think that I can only beat people, but in the first place for me there was always study, and only then sport. I studied all the time, studied languages, history, geography. There were more problems with mathematics and physics, but there was no desire to delve into these subjects, but some, on the contrary, were very easy. I still continue to study. It's never too late to do this, even if you're 70 years old. Children, always put study first. If you have muscles, but no brains, then there will be problems in life. And with brains, but without muscles, you will always find something to do. But it’s especially good if all this is combined.
- Nurmagomedov about studying
How I started playing sports
- As my father said, I started walking on the wrestling mat. We had a small gym at home, where dad coached rural children. As for the first amateur competitions, it was 5-6 years old, but there weren’t any cameras then, so there was no video from them. As a child, I definitely did not plan to become a champion, I just wanted to perform and train. Some dreams arose, but did not think that I could reach such a level that it would be hard for me to even just walk along the street. If I knew, maybe I wouldn't go for it. Everything just went on as usual, and I won.
About education
- I never liked my regime, since there was practically no free time. But there were additional workouts, lessons. Sometimes, my father gave the task to rewrite 30 pages from Ozhegov’s dictionary, and then checked it. Sometimes motivated by something.
For example, I had a book “Countries and Peoples”, and I knew by heart everything about 196 states: population, history, economy, geographical location. About each three to four pages. For every country I learned, I received money. And when I needed them, I could always learn it and tell my father. Dad recently posted on Instagram methods of raising children, among which the fifth number means coercion. He jokingly told him: “Why did you start with me right away from the fifth?”
First of all, a personal example always plays a decisive role. For example, if a father tells his son that you can’t smoke, and he is standing with a cigarette, then what can we talk about? Dad not only told me about the benefits of training, but he always went out on the carpet, worked with children, although he worked all day as director of a state farm. And I just followed his lead.
About motivation
Since childhood, I dreamed of competing with the best fighters in the world. I like to train, be fit, compete and prove that there are no limits for a person. You can develop both your body and your mind. I like to challenge and achieve my goals.
This is hard work, because when you are at the top, everyone wants to overthrow you from there. To remain inaccessible, you have to train even more, because there are enough motivated hungry guys. Plus, when you become a champion, there are many distracting factors that lead you away from professional sports. But I love martial arts. If I didn’t like doing this, I would have changed my occupation long ago.
About the main qualities of a man
- With only one quality it will be difficult, several are required at once: honesty, kindness, justice. I’ll probably put justice in the first place, you should always call a spade a spade. In general, in our time, it’s very difficult even to remain a man, to do man’s actions. Today, when a person behaves as befits a man, people are surprised. This is already a rarity.
About dream
- I had a dream to become a champion when I switched to a professional level. I strove for this. Now I want to raise children, educate them so that they find themselves in this life. In general, when you have children, you begin to think differently. Everything changes radically. For me, the satisfaction of the Almighty comes first. He gave us life, and we do not need anything in this life. When leaving, we leave everything material here, and affairs will be remembered. In my opinion, the purpose of life is to do good, good deeds.
About the victory, which is proud
- Honestly, victories do not bring much satisfaction, with the exception of the battle with McGregor. I beat this man with pleasure. There were also such fights in which I realized that I could do even more harm to the opponent, and he himself asked him to give up. And I don’t hold out the painful techniques, but just fix it so that the person knocks. I have no purpose to inflict the greatest possible damage to the opponent. With the exception of one battle ...
McGregor did not look into my eyes. Then I realized that he did not want to be in the octagon with me, although before that he had talked a lot and made a bunch of high-profile statements. And in the cage, when the judge was standing between us, he avoided my gaze and dreamed that everything would end as quickly as possible. At such moments, you understand that psychologically you have already defeated your opponent. And sometimes you look into the opponent’s eyes, and there is nothing in them. Others, on the contrary, are psychologically stable, you understand from the look that you have to bother with them for a long time, they just won't give up. As they say, eyes do not lie.
- Nurmagomedov on McGregor's running gaze
About revenge with McGregor
“I don't think he wants it.” I beat him four rounds, he knocked as a sign that he was giving up ... First, let him earn a rematch. The fourth year has gone, as he has no victories. For example, in order to fight for the belt, I needed to win 10 victories in the UFC. I earned this right not in language, but in deeds, and McGregor and I are fundamentally different in this. Nevertheless, the fight with him was the most memorable in my career.
About the fight against fear
- It is always scary, but fear can manifest itself in different ways. This may be a fear of letting people close, to perform poorly, to miss a strong blow. I overcame the fear of pain long ago. I’m not afraid of any oblique views from the rivals either. Another thing is the fear of performing poorly and not fulfilling what I worked on with the team. In sports, this is called jerk. I do not believe athletes who claim to not experience it. Another point is how much you are able to overcome fear. Not every person is ready for this. Whoever succeeds, they become champions.
About the upcoming fight with Ferguson
- The fight will take place in March – April next year. Now we are negotiating. As for the cancellation of our fights, twice this happened because of my health problems, and twice because of Tony’s injuries. This background makes our battle so expected. In addition, we both have 12 consecutive wins in the UFC. The duel with Ferguson will be very interesting, and I am already preparing for it, both psychologically and physically.
- Nurmagomedov: the battle with Ferguson will be held in March-April
About life after sports
- Often I think about it, there are some projects, I have already started working on some things. I understand that it’s impossible to speak at a high level all my life. I am 31 years old and the retirement is just around the corner. Maybe I’ll have another fight, or maybe three. Until he decided what I want.
About hobbies
- I love animals, but I do not welcome hunting. You can still fight with a bear, but do not kill. I love to travel, but it has become difficult to do, I have to look for countries in which the popularity of mixed martial arts is lower. Somewhere in Germany or Switzerland, you can safely walk, and not many people recognize you.
About meeting with Putin
- I saw him a couple of times, and these meetings made such an impression on me that he was very tired of all this fuss. I asked him how he copes with his work, lives in such a frantic rhythm. Putin replied that he plays sports, swims, and pays attention to a healthy lifestyle. This helps him relieve stress.