- The last time RT spoke to you was in October - less than a month before the fight with Felipe Froes.

But for health reasons, you were forced to withdraw from him.

What happened then?

- I have problems with the calf muscle of my left leg.

Edema appeared, so the preparation was disrupted: he could neither run nor move properly.

After that, he underwent a certain course of treatment and rehabilitation.

But now I have fully recovered and I feel great.

- Your place in the title match was taken by Marat Balaev and lost by knockout to Froes.

What impression did that fight leave on you?

- Marat surprised me with his wrestling skills.

He constantly transferred Felipe to the ground, supervised him there.

In my opinion, Balaev was more active than Froes and won the first three rounds.

The fourth was affected by the lack of a full-fledged camp, because he had only two weeks to prepare.

The "functional" was not at the highest level, so over time he began to miss a lot and in the end he lost.

- Perhaps it is also a matter of age?

A few weeks after the tournament, Balaev turned 45 years old.

- It is possible that this also affected.

However, over the years, recovery is slower.

Do not forget about the weight reduction, which could also affect endurance.

- At ACA 120 you will finally meet Froes.

What can you say about your future opponent?

-

I know him very well.

Felipe is renowned for his stamina, breathing well throughout all five rounds.

Overall, Froes is a very young and promising fighter.

With each fight, he progresses, grows.

But I would not say that he surprised me with something during the battle with Balaev.

- Felipe has once again demonstrated that he is very formidable in the rack.

In your opinion, can he be put on a par with the strongest

ACA

drummers

?

- Froes has good Muay Thai skills and Thai boxers always look good in stance.

The Brazilian is able to work in both left and right-handed stances, strikes equally dangerously with both arms, legs, knees.

I am sure that in the future fight Felipe will try to stay on his feet as long as possible and exchange blows.

But I'm ready for this.

I wouldn't say Froes is by far the best drummer in ACA.

There were always a lot of fighters in the promotion who felt great in the stance.

These days are no exception.

For example, Albert Tumenov and Murad Abdulaev.

- In your opinion, in what aspects are you stronger than Felipe?

- I surpass Froes both in standing and on the ground.

In my opinion, a fighter should enter the cage exclusively with a similar attitude.

Otherwise, why fight at all?

- It is noteworthy that Froes will become the eighth rival from Brazil in your career, and you have won the previous seven.

Do you have any special attitude towards fighters from this country?

- Over the years of my career, I really managed to fight with many representatives of this country, and most of them were very serious athletes.

But this is rather a will of chance.

I have no dislike for Brazilians.

When the league proposes opponents, it's up to me to agree.

I came here to fight.

- As far as I know, some Russians specifically asked the leadership not to arrange fights with their compatriots.

Did you do that?

- Of course, it is unpleasant to fight with a person with whom you constantly intersect in the hall, communicate, make friends.

But I didn’t try to select opponents for myself, to ask to stage fights with foreigners.

I try to behave professionally in this matter.

With whom I have to fight, with that I will.

- Recently in the

UFC there was a duel between Magomed Ankalaev and Nikita Krylov.

In the course of it, the impression was that at times Ankalaev deliberately delays the fight in the ground so as not to cause damage to the enemy in the standing position.

And after the end of the battle, Magomed admitted that he did not want to agree to a fight with the Ukrainian at all.

In your opinion, is this acceptable?

- Of course, opponents must respect each other, many can even be friends outside the cage.

But if a person agreed to a duel, then he must go out and demonstrate all his skills.

Otherwise, it's better to just give up the fight.

- Are there any fighters in the world with whom you would not fight even for $ 100 million?

“I wouldn’t agree to fight my brothers for any money.” 

- And not counting them?

- We will beat everyone else

(laughs)

.

- Returning to the upcoming battle with Froes, you are united not only by the desire to win the featherweight title, but also by fantasy nicknames.

Yours is based on the Lord of the Rings trilogy, Felipe - the Japanese manga

Dragon

Ball

Z, which later became the famous computer game in the fighting game genre.

Did you know about it?

- I'm not fond of this.

I have something to do.

I spend most of my time in the gym and spend the rest of my time with my family.

“You used to say you didn't like Frodo's nickname.

Have you changed your attitude to this?

- It appeared during the Bellator performances.

The manager said that my name and surname are too long, and it will be difficult for American fans to remember.

Therefore, he offered to take a nickname.

I was then engaged in weight reduction, so this question did not interest me much.

Said, "Pick something yourself."

I go out to battle and hear "Frodo."

I didn't know then what it was all about

(laughs)

.

After the show immediately went to the Internet, it turned out, the character of "Lord of the Rings".

- Have you seen the movie?

- Yes.

But I'm not a fantasy fan.

I prefer something more close to reality.

For example, I like the movie "Braveheart" starring Mel Gibson.

But mostly I prefer to watch historical films.

- Recently, your compatriot Magomed Bibulatov changed his nickname from Gladiator to Chaborz (bear-wolf from Chechen).

Have you ever thought to follow his example and go to the title fight with a new nickname?

- So far there have been no such plans.

I will definitely go to the championship match like Frodo, and then we'll see.

- As the past tournaments have shown, corners play a very important role during the fight.

Last time, the current president of the

Eagle

Fighting

Championship, Shamil Zavurov, was your second.

Will he also be on your team this time?

- Yes of course.

Zavurov will be accompanied by a percussion trainer Magomed Bagandov, brother Magomed-Ali Isaev, Magomed Alkhasov.

These four people will support me and give me hints during the fight.

- Your cousin Khabib Nurmagomedov has not expressed a desire to support you during the battle with Froes?

- Khabib and his brother Abubakar are now in the United States.

Therefore, he could not come.

- Recently it became known that Nurmagomedov intends to engage in coaching.

Do you think he has the makings to become a good mentor?

- In my opinion, Khabib has always been a coach, albeit unofficially.

When he was around, he tried to help everyone: he gave advice, instructed, directed.

- Do you think Khabib has the potential to become as great a coach as his father Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov?

- I think so.

Khabib is constantly working, every day he is in the hall.

For Umar and Usman, he is not only an older brother, but also a coach.

- The head of

Fight

Nights Kamil Hajiyev expressed concern that Nurmagomedov might not succeed in the role of a mentor, as he would be too demanding of his charges.

Do you agree with this opinion?

- If an athlete has a desire, then Khabib will not turn his back on him.

On the contrary, it will support it to the maximum.

After all, Nurmagomedov himself survived everything.

He remembers how he started himself, shed sweat in the gym, and knows perfectly well what is needed to achieve high results.