"He is interested in a fight with Dos Anjos": Nurmagomedov's manager about Makhachev's next fight and Magomedsharipov's return

Islam Makhachev already in the middle of summer plans to continue to implement the plan to win the title of champion in the lightweight division of the UFC.

In early March, the Russian fighter crushed Drew Dober, and in a few months he plans to try his hand for the first time in his career with a representative of the top 10 rating of the category.

As his manager Rizvan Magomedov admitted, at the moment there are three possible rivals, and meeting with each of them will be an interesting test for the heir of Khabib Nurmagomedov.

“I think we will see the battle of Islam in July.

Makhachev's rival will be someone from the top 10 lightweight rankings - Rafael Dos Anjos, Paul Felder, Dan Hooker.

His preferences?

He is interested in a fight with Dos Anjos.

This fighter has shown himself for a long time: a former champion, played in two weight categories, is good in standing, wrestling, and parterre.

This will be a good test.

Although Islam has already proved to everyone that it is at a high level.

There will be an opportunity to add another big name to the track record, "Magomedov said in an interview with RT.

If you believe the words of the manager, then Makhachev still intends to fulfill what he failed at the end of 2020.

Then the UFC twice tried to bring him and Dos Anjos in a cage, but both times the fights were canceled due to the illness of the participants.

But even after that, the fighters did not forget about each other and continued to promote a possible fight on social networks.

It is noteworthy that earlier Makhachev repeatedly tried to arrange a battle for himself with strong opponents through social networks.

However, it ended in failure every time.

Perhaps the reason was that the level of Islam's popularity was weakly correlated with its skill, in connection with which potential rivals preferred to choose opponents that are simpler, but more famous.

At the same time, Magomedov expressed the opinion that this had quite understandable reasons, and also assured that the situation would begin to change in the near future.

So, in the summer, a Russian for the first time can lead a tournament under the auspices of the UFC.

“Previously, the organization did not focus on him for one simple reason: everyone understood that if Makhachev became the first challenger, he would not fight Nurmagomedov.

He will beat his competitors, but he will not fight for the title himself, because he and Khabib are friends, brothers, trained together.

No belt will fit between them.

Now the situation has changed.

There is no champion.

Khabib Nurmagomedov retired.

I'm sure you noticed that on the eve of the fight between Makhachev and Drew Dober, much more media work was carried out on the part of both Islam itself and the UFC.

So we will fill this gap, ”Magomedov assured.

Among other things, the manager spoke about the fate of another star client.

Over the past year, the Russian MMA community has been tirelessly discussing the situation around Zabit Magomedsharipov.

Between September 2017 and November 2019, he won six fights in the UFC and immediately broke into the elite of the featherweight division.

But since then, the fighter has never entered the cage, and rumors began to spread in the media that he had problems with motivation.

But, as Magomedov explained, the matter was different.

“In fact, this is the most frequently asked question lately.

I think we'll see Zabit soon.

I cannot make an official announcement regarding the date and time (of his return to the cage. -

), but we are working on his next fight.

Most likely, it will take place in mid - late summer.

There were a number of events that prevented him from fighting: injuries, illnesses.

Therefore, Magomedsharipov had to take a long pause to restore his health.

Now he is in perfect order and is slowly being drawn into the work process, ”Magomedov said.

Over the past year, the UFC has repeatedly tried to arrange a fight between the two brightest representatives of the featherweight division - Magomedsharipov and Yair Rodriguez, but she has repeatedly failed.

Magomedov assured that at the moment the option of a battle with this rival is not being considered, but also admitted that he could not yet say who would become Zabit's next opponent.

“This issue should be approached at the moment when a future battle will be planned.

Now it is pointless to talk about who is free.

For example, by the end of the summer, all of these people may be busy.

I do not exclude that the next opponent of Magomedsharipov may be the Korean Zombie (Cheng Song Jung. -

), Brian Ortega.

In the context of the coronavirus pandemic, when everyone can fly out of the fight, everything can change three times within one week, ”said the manager.

After the battle with Calvin Catter at a tournament in Moscow, Magomedsharipov was repeatedly reproached for problems with endurance.

Therefore, many journalists and experts considered it appropriate to check Zabit in a five-round duel before he gets a chance to fight for the title.

However, Magomedov believes that holding a 25-minute bout is not essential for his client.

“No, we do not set such a task. We ourselves know what the problems were, we worked on these moments. If the fight drags on for three or five rounds, so be it. If there is a chance to finish the fight ahead of schedule, I doubt that Zabit will deliberately prove something to someone. Such issues need to be resolved in the hall, behind closed doors, ”concluded Magomedov.