"In a fight with Poirier he looked like a frightened chicken": Nurmagomedov on the form of McGregor, Karpin's team and Emelianenko's age

Over the past few years, Khabib Nurmagomedov has taught that he works at press conferences as hard as he did in a cage. His communication with journalists was rarely limited to one hour, and this time he did not cheat on himself. The ex-UFC lightweight champion tirelessly answered questions and several times asked the presenter to give the floor to those who, for various reasons, had not yet received it.

This time the format of the press conference was slightly different from the previous ones, because in addition to Khabib himself, representatives of his Eagles MMA team were present at the event, including his brothers Usman, Umar and Abubakar, UFC fighters Islam Makhachev and Zubaira Tukhugov, ACA champion Magomedrasul Khasbulayev, president league EFC Shamil Zavurov and others.

Nevertheless, as expected, all attention was focused on Nurmagomedov, who managed to talk about both the main events in the world of mixed martial arts and football.

In particular, Nurmagomedov shared his opinion on the appointment of Valery Karpin as head coach of the Russian national team.

The fighter did not hide that he treats her former mentor - Stanislav Cherchesov with great warmth - and admitted that he did not blame him for all the troubles of the national team.

“I have a good relationship with Cherchesov. We communicate with him. It peaked in 2018. The best achievement of Russia at the world championships. The fact that the national team has been on the decline lately is not only his fault, but also the Russian Football Union (RFU). A new coach has now been appointed. New energy is always needed, new people. I think Karpin has certain thoughts (regarding the composition. -

RT

). He has already summoned new people. I wonder what the specialist will achieve. I like him. When I was young, I followed his performances at Celta, in Russia. Honestly, in anticipation of the September matches. It would be interesting to see Karpin's team against Croatia. This will show the level of Russian football, ”Nurmagomedov said.

Also, the ex-UFC champion commented on the rumors about the inclusion in the football club "Legion Dynamo" from Makhachkala.

The other day, the team allegedly announced the signing of a contract with Nurmagomedov, but he denied this information.

“I have good friendly relations with Legion Dynamo.

I support this team in every possible way when I visit Makhachkala.

I go to the matches, I look.

There are no plans to enter the field yet.

I now spend more time on the plane than on the ground.

I haven't signed the contract yet, but I can come in at any time.

If there is a cup match, the Premier League team will come, it is possible.

But I have to lose five kilograms to be in a form suitable for football, ”admitted Nurmagomedov.

At the same time, the athlete said that he continues to keep himself in good shape, but the loads are noticeably different from those that he had during performances in mixed martial arts.

“I just train, I try to be like an athlete.

When you do a class in the morning, you get a boost of energy for the whole day.

Perhaps this is a habit.

I always want to swing, run, fight.

It is very difficult to give up all this abruptly.

And about the weight too ... You need to keep yourself in shape.

Now there are no loads that were during a professional career.

Maybe 30 percent of them.

I work for myself, ”Nurmagomedov said.

It will not be difficult for the ex-champion of the Absolute Fighting Championship to gain optimal condition, if necessary, which he has repeatedly proved.

However, Nurmagomedov admitted that he was not thinking about resuming his career.

“There are different topics.

White and I have a fairly open communication - we talk about tournaments, fighters.

The last time we did not discuss my return.

Apparently, he realized that I gave up fighting, ”the athlete suggested.

As it became clear from the words of Nurmagomedov, at the moment his cooperation with the UFC is taking place at a different level.

He announced that he acquired part of the shares of the American promotion and is now considering it as an example in the development of his own organization - the Eagle Fighting Championship.

But if Khabib spoke about business rather restrainedly, then he paid much more attention to the discussion of his teammates.

Most of all went to Islam Makhachev, whom the ex-champion reproached for his love of all kinds of entertainment and travel.

“This is the person who spoils the team. Everyone looks at him and also wants to relax. All extreme is about Islam. We're trying to stop him a little. What kind of rest can a professional athlete, performing in the most developing sport in the world, have? Every day there are geeks in MMA who can fight both in stance and on the ground. Take Uthman. The last time he fought on July 30, and for the last ten days he was losing weight. Thus, I did not do any hard training for almost a month. And while he is sitting, someone else is plowing. The fight passed, rested for three or four days, a maximum of a week and returned to the gym. If you want to be a champion, train. If it is enough for you to win two or three fights in Bellator and think of yourself as a fighter ... When I was 23 years old, I flew in from a fight, and the next day I went to study, "Nurmagomedov said.

Nevertheless, he still included Makhachev in the list of the strongest domestic fighters in the world at the moment.

Among them, he also referred Askar Askarov, Peter Yan, Magomed Ankalaev, Khamzat Chimaev and Magomed Ismailov, while noting that Russia has no serious representatives in heavy weight.

“Alexander Volkov is one of the best Russian fighters in the UFC.

But when important battles take place ... I went well - I lost to Cyril Gun, Derrick Lewis.

He is somewhere near, but does not win serious fights.

Plus age.

He is my age.

Let's see, he needs at least two years to get to the waist.

The same Gun, Lewis, Curtis Blades - they have not gone anywhere.

I'm not going to criticize Volkov, my father was very worried about him, they had a good relationship.

But what is, that is, ”- answered Nurmagomedov.

Developing the theme of heavy weight, the former UFC champion shared his opinion on the next fight of Fedor Emelianenko.

In October, the legendary athlete will lead the first Bellator tournament in Russia against former interim belt contender Timothy Johnson.

“Fedor is already 45 years old.

Let's be honest, this is not a fighting age.

Yes, you can make money.

According to Johnson, I will say that this is a dangerous opponent.

I don't think Fedor chose it himself.

Rather Bellator suggested, he agreed.

I don't know what their relationship is.

Johnson is hardly significant in the heavyweight division.

But for Emelianenko, he is definitely a threat, ”said Khabib.

Among other things, Nurmagomedov said that when Emelianenko first announced his retirement, his father Abdulmanap said that “it was not Fedor who left the sport, but Fedor’s sport,” noting that a fighter does not have a second peak. Moreover, this applies not only to the former PRIDE champion, but also to other representatives of mixed martial arts, in particular, Jose Aldo.

“Yang beat him a year ago. Now Aldo won one fight and people started talking. But this is up to a certain point. The same Conor in the fight with the Cowboy looked like a lion, and with Porier - like a frightened chicken. Top rivals demonstrate your worth. Why did I say that the level of Russian football will be shown by matches not with Malta, but with Croatia? Fighting the Cowboy or Pedro Muñoz will not answer what form you are in. Let him go out with Peter and also fight. You saw what you did to him. He just closed and waited for the judge to stop. This shows that you are not at your peak. You are conscious and just defending yourself. I call these fighters businessmen, ”Nurmagomedov said.

Apparently, the ex-UFC champion wrote down his failed opponent, Tony Ferguson, in a similar category.

According to him, the best years of the American are in the past, which was noticeable in his last performances.

“He is 38 years old.

How can he come back?

In the last three fights, everyone dominated him - both in the stand and in the stalls.

At this age, you need to slow down.

There must be people nearby who will say this.

We say the same to Zavurov.

Shamil is also not young.

Fights are not easy, especially when you start performing late and then end up being knocked out.

We have to think about the future, ”said the owner of EFC.

Among other things, Nurmagomedov named BJ Penn the second greatest lightweight fighter in history and admitted that he was not impressed with his interactions with Mike Tyson.

“I liked the way Cristiano Ronaldo looked better.

He looked like an athlete, ”Nurmagomedov said.

To top it off, he admitted that he had a negative attitude towards pop MMA and said that he would not mind the inclusion of mixed martial arts in the program of the Olympic Games.

“For the Olympics, this is a pretty tough sport, I think there should be some restrictions, rules.

It could be included, because MMA is more interesting than curling or karate.

More audience, more advertising contracts, more attention from television.

I know that the IOC considers mixed martial arts to be a tough sport, but the rules can be changed a little, "concluded Nurmagomedov.