Visa problems, friendship with a rival and Khabib's records: what Minakov, Tokov and Nurmagomedov talked about before Bellator 269

On Saturday, the VTB Arena will host the Bellator 269 tournament, the main battle of which will be a duel between veterans Fedor Emelianenko and Timothy Johnson.

The show will also feature the ex-champion of the organization in heavyweight division Vitaly Minakov, the seventh number of the light division Usman Nurmagomedov and the top middle category fighter Anatoly Tokov.

On the eve of the event, the athletes held a virtual press conference, during which they answered questions from journalists.

"The new belt has changed in design - I want one for myself"

In the second most important fight of the evening, Vitaly Minakov will return to the cage.

The former Bellator Heavyweight Champion last fought in August 2019.

Then he knocked out Timothy Johnson.

However, then a long downtime followed: at first, the Russian could not get a visa to the United States, and then a pandemic began.

However, as noted by the athlete, now he is in great shape.

“The downtime happened through no fault of mine.

But I continued to train, albeit without competitive practice.

Now I feel good enough.

Two and a half months of preparation showed that I am in a form in which I can perform successfully, ”the fighter believes.

Vitaly's rival at the tournament in Moscow will be Said Souma.

So far, the 28-year-old American has won seven victories and two defeats.

In Bellator, he entered the cage twice, and took the upper hand only once - in July he knocked out Ronnie Marquez.

According to Minakov, the fighters know each other well from the American Top Team, one of the leading mixed martial arts training clubs in the United States.

“We trained together at ATT several times, stood in pairs in wrestling training with Steve Mocco.

I can call Said a universal fighter.

He is very sensitive, flexible, explosive.

Souma is a very good sparring partner, a thinking fighter.

Said is disingenuous when he says that he will bet on the fight.

This is not his greatest strength.

But I will be glad if he still wants to fight.

This is my element, ”added Minakov.

At the same time, the 36-year-old athlete admitted that it is not so important for him which opponent to fight with and on which line of the rating he will be after the fight.

It is paramount to just step into the cage after such a long pause and begin the fight for the return of the title.

“My main motivation is to fully return to the organization and compete for the title.

I had different stages in my life, at some point I was thinking of ending my sports career.

But today I clearly understand that I want to continue performing.

I have the strength to win the title.

I want to bring the belt back.

Moreover, it has now changed in terms of design.

I want one for myself, ”Minakov joked.

At the same time, Vitaly does not consider options for continuing his career in Russia, if he still cannot resolve the issue with an American visa.

“I see no point in speaking somewhere other than Western organizations.

I don't want to leave for Russian promotions - organizations are two orders of magnitude lower.

It has come a long way to perform at a high level.

If the visa is not restored, I will not wait for the next tournament in Russia.

Maybe it will be in a year or two, or it won't be there at all, ”the fighter expressed his opinion.

"Let's fight and continue to be friends"

Another fight of the tournament, to which special attention is riveted, will be the confrontation between Anatoly Tokov and ex-ACA fighter Sharaf Davlatmurodov.

As for the pupil of Fedor Emelianenko, the victory can return him to the list of contenders for the belt in the middle weight category, which is currently owned by Gegard Musasi.

“I will win on Saturday - and they promise to fight for the belt.

If you have to wait a long time, I think you can have another fight.

How to defeat Musashi?

Just like everyone else, ”Tokov said.

The fighter, like Minakov, did not perform for a long time.

In October 2019, he extended his unbeaten streak to five fights, but after that he was never able to enter the cage.

“First there was the coronavirus.

Fights were canceled several times, then the visa expired, and there was no way to get a new one due to COVID-19.

And now we have succeeded, ”explained Anatoly.

The Russian is well acquainted with his opponent in the Bellator 269 tournament.

As Tokov admitted, in 2017, at the training camp, he and Sharaf even lived in the same room and often sparred.

“To be honest, we even communicate.

When we were offered a fight, we phoned and decided: we will fight, and then we will continue to be friends.

This is our job.

Before we were offered a fight, Shafar called to his training camp.

He is a versatile athlete.

Fights well and hits.

The fight will be interesting.

This is not a passing opponent, ”Anatoly believes.

It will not be easy for Tokov on Saturday also because his brother Vladimir also takes part in the tournament, who will have a duel with the Frenchman Aimar Gui.

“He fights before me, so I will know what he has there.

On the other hand, it's good that we are preparing together.

I want to be around, but it's hard when you fight yourself, ”Tokov explained.

"It is important not to win more victories, but to remain undefeated"

Usman Nurmagomedov can become the hero of the evening.

The cousin of the former UFC lightweight champion wanted to perform at home, and he had such an opportunity.

The athlete at the press conference was in a good mood and positively assessed his form.

“I am glad that I was given the opportunity to perform in my native land.

There will be many relatives and friends at the tournament: it is both pressing and motivating.

I think I can handle the excitement.

On Saturday night I will leave the cage victorious.

Preparation went well, I feel great.

Now we will reduce the weight and be ready for battle, ”Nurmagomedov said.

At the same time, preparation for the fight with the Finn Patrick Pietila did not go as smoothly as we would like.

Usman's head coach Javier Mendes contracted the coronavirus during the training camp, and the fighter had to train without his physical presence.

“He flew in and got infected - I don't know how.

I sat at home for two weeks.

But Javier watched the fights, said what to do, how to work.

Drew up the whole plan for the battle.

In general, everything is fine.

Not much time has passed since the previous training camp, so I haven't lost much of my form, ”Usman said.

The press conference did not go without questions regarding Khabib Nurmagomedov and the comparison of the two brothers.

Usman, for example, was asked if he could overtake the former UFC champion in the number of wins.

“I don’t know, to be honest.

It's not about getting more victories, it's about staying undefeated.

If all this does not bore me, then perhaps I can bypass Khabib.

But I have no goal in my head to do it, ”Nurmagomedov said.

At the same time, the fighter does not exclude that an excellent coach can turn out from Khabib, since he is very purposeful and always achieves what he wants.

Also, journalists were interested in the question of whether Usman plans to compete for the Bellator lightweight title.

The Russian noted that he does not make long-term plans yet.

“Now the main task is to fight in Moscow, maybe later we will think about this issue.

He is now focused on his fight.

I give myself completely to training, I am engaged, ”Nurmagomedov notes.