"First he will ask his mother": Mendes about the return of Khabib, the talent of the Nurmagomedov brothers and McGregor's attacks

- Welcome to Boytsovsky Island.

What brings you here?

- I train Khabib's cousin - Umar Nurmagomedov.

On January 20, on the island of Yas, he must fight, so I am here.

- The audience expects that Umar will fight no worse than Habib.

How different is he from your cousin in fighting style?

- Umar is an amazing fighter.

I think if everything goes right, after five or six fights he will become a champion.

But he doesn't look like Khabib at all.

He has a completely different technique.

It is more focused on using percussion techniques.

But in general, he can do anything - combine any techniques and techniques.

- We watch videos of your conversations with Umar, which you publish on social networks.

Does he pull up English?

- Yes.

But it is still difficult for him to perceive English.

Recently I told him: "Tomorrow at seven in the morning for training."

He: "Yes, yes, at seven, good."

In the morning I knock on his door ... He is still asleep.

As a result, we started training an hour later.

I think to myself: "Okay."

I have to keep in mind all the time that their “yes” answer may not actually mean “yes”.

- Probably, sometimes you need to write down some instructions ...

- Maybe.

I don't know, maybe that's the way to do it.

Or else I should keep learning Russian.

It is not easy for me.

I constantly ask the guys: "Teach me."

They still speak English to me, so I don't know ...

- You just anticipated my next question.

Are you planning to learn Russian?

Maybe hire a tutor?

- Yes, I plan - I need it.

I am currently using google translator.

But in general there are tutors and special applications.

This can be done.

I have to, because I spend a lot of time in a Russian-speaking environment.

Maybe the guys are making fun of me, but I don't even know.

In general, hardly, because they respect their elders very much.

I don’t think they would have made fun of me.

But I would still like to understand what they are talking about.

- What is your opinion of Umar's rival - Sergei Morozov?

Have you studied his fighting style and what are your expectations from this fight?

“I've seen him fight.

He is very good and fast.

Considering how Sergey moves, we can say that he is a rather dangerous opponent, so we should be careful.

But I sincerely believe that Umar will win a brilliant victory.

At this stage, he is at a higher level than Morozov.

- Who will be in Umar's corner during the fight?

- Me, his brother Usman and Khabib.

The three of us will be in his corner.

- Tell us a little about Usman.

His debut on the big stage is due soon - in the Bellator promotion, but not so much is known about him ...

- He is the most gifted and talented fighter I have ever trained and met.

Uthman can do anything.

Of course, he needs practice, experience and psychological conditioning.

Let's see what happens when he acquires all these much-needed qualities, although, again, he is already quite strong.

- And how is this expressed?

Why do you say Uthman is the best?

- He learns very quickly.

In addition, neither the left-sided nor the right-sided stance is a problem for him.

Usman is incredible, I love him.

To me, it's like messing with the most expensive car in the world.

It just needs to be tweaked a little here and there, and you have the fastest car on the planet.

But it is important not to make a mistake, otherwise it may explode.

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- Has Khabib ever responded to your interviews in which you say that Umar and Usman are better than him?

- I never said they were better.

I don't think anyone is better than him.

When I call someone extremely talented, it doesn't mean better, it only means that they have talent.

Khabib is the best I have ever seen.

And, perhaps, the best in general.

To have superior abilities is not yet the best, it is just to be able to do it all.

This does not mean that this fighter is the best.

No, no, I think that Khabib is the best.

- He is the best at the moment, but given their talents, they can still surpass him, is that right?

- We'll see!

They will become champions.

But whether they surpass Khabib, we'll see.

I can't say that.

Khabib is incredible.

I can say that they are better at kicking than him and maybe they are better at boxing.

I don't know if they will be able to surpass him on the ground and compare with him psychologically.

I think Umar is the closest in terms of psychological strength, he is very strong.

- The head of the UFC, Dana White, after meeting with Khabib, said that he would think about returning only if one of the lightweight fighters impressed him.

Do you agree with him?

- I agree, but there is one more thing to remember: for this he needs the permission of his mother.

She needs to approve, otherwise Khabib will not contradict her.

He said: "I made a promise to my mother."

So now, as I understand it, she needs to give him that permission.

Given his wonderful personality, if he decides to return after seeing a worthy rival, he will first ask his mother.

- Did you see Khabib after his meeting with Dana?

- He was in quarantine.

So we only saw him through the balcony.

There was no normal meeting yet, but we greeted each other.

- Do you think he and Conor will be accommodated in the same hotel?

Or, on the contrary, will they try to prevent their meeting?

- I think they will try to make sure that they do not overlap.

I think it would be logical to avoid this meeting.

- Probably, if Conor arrives here now, he will need to go through quarantine, and by the time he leaves, Khabib will have left Abu Dhabi.

The plan is probably this.

- Yes.

- So you still think it's right to avoid such meetings?

- I am 100% sure of that.

They never ask me what I think of Conor as a person, they ask me how I feel about him as a fighter.

He's an excellent fighter, one of the best I've ever seen.

But as a person I don't like him.

I don't like the way he behaves.

I don't like it when he says something about the country, religion, family.

Such methods have no place in martial arts.

Yes, trash can be present, there can be any statements about it personally, but leave all these topics aside.

Conor allows himself to attack all this.

It is difficult to forgive this, because this is no longer a professional question, we are talking about family, faith and homeland - this is difficult to digest.

That's why I don't like him.

It’s not some kind of hatred, he’s just unsympathetic to me.

- Do you enjoy working with people like Khabib, Umar and Usman because of a completely different cultural background?

- Yes, they taught me a lot.

They taught me to be more open with people, to show more warmth and love.

So I have a good character.

But now I try my best to be nice with others.

It is not difficult for me to be a good person, I am a kind person by nature, but now I communicate with people more than usual.

I used to be embarrassed, I was more withdrawn.

But the Nurmagomedovs made me more sociable.