At the end of 2021, we asked Kamil Gadzhiev if Magomed Ankalaev and Islam Makhachev could become UFC champions in 2022. Kamil said no, and it was easy to believe. But now Makhachev already has a championship belt, and Ankalaev is one step away from him – on December 10, North American time, he will fight with Jan Blachowicz.
Blachowicz is one of the toughest champions in the UFC. At one point, the Pole lost 4 out of five fights, but rebuilt himself, cleaned the rust off the knockouts, polished the fight and started expending his energy in a fight very carefully. Yan is 38 years old, in 2018 he was released in Moscow under the Katyusha, he gives the impression of a smiling bearded fighter who likes to hike not only behind his belt, but also in the mountains with a backpack.
– Initially, your fight was not planned as a title fight, but the champion, Jiri Prochazka, got injured, and you and Jan Blachowicz will have to determine the new belt holder. How did you know?
– I was in Las Vegas to train, my manager Ali Abdelaziz called me and told me that Prochazka was injured and that the UFC wanted me to fight for the belt. Delighted, he immediately accepted. I was told that the opponent would be Glover Teixeira. But an hour or a little more passed, they called back and said that Teixeira did not want to fight, that the fight would be with Jan Blachowicz, but in five rounds and for the championship belt. I was happy when I heard this news. I worked a long time and went a long time to this belt.
Did Ali call you and say all this in English?
“I don’t quite understand, I understand a little. But there is a translator working with Ali, and they translated it verbatim for me.
– There is an interesting detail – none of the Russians defeated the current UFC champion when he won the belt. Oleg Taktarov, Khabib Nurmagomedov, Petr Yan and Islam Makhachev won the vacant belts. Have you noticed this feature?
– I don’t think it matters. The main thing is that you fight for a real belt, not a temporary one. And when you become a champion, you will already meet them all. And a real champion, and contenders, and anyone who would take the belt from you.
– Is it hard not to think that you are about to become a UFC champion?
“I don’t think about the fight at all. It’s not the time yet, I’m thinking first of all about the weight race, it’s the hardest part of our job. But as you weigh in, you are already thinking about the fight.
– Bellator champion Vadim Nemkov said that once the scales showed 114 kg under him (Nemkov and Ankalaev’s weight class reached 93 kg, the fighters met at the Russian MMA championship in 2014. – ” “). What is the maximum weight indicated on the scale below you?
– 106 kg is my biggest weight in my life. This is before preparation. When you are resting, when you are not exercising.
– Did you ever not train at all for a week?
– I could be straightforward. Because usually fights happen so often that I’m almost always in preparation. And if there is a break, I can afford not to train for a month. Besides, that means I play rugby or ride a horse. I’m on the go. Only I don’t spar and I don’t give load work.
– Many fans wonder whether to consider Oleg Taktarov the champion. Wikipedia and UFC stats don’t count him, indicating he won the tournament. Dana White and the organizers of the first tournaments say that Taktarov should be considered the champion of the UFC. Which UFC Russian champion do you consider to be 4th or 5th in a row?
I don’t think about it at all, it doesn’t matter if you are the first or the last UFC champion. Who can, he takes this title. This is usually the wrong position – saying who’s there first, who’s second. What’s the difference – the main thing you did.
– From the documentary of this tournament, we learned that the head coach of your opponent is a wrestler from Chechnya Anzor Azhiev. Could this give Jan Blachowicz an advantage?
“I don’t think there will be a fight in our fight. I think there will be a booth. But I don’t care, because when I prepare, I fight the best wrestlers in Russia who play in the major leagues. I don’t care who trains him… They train him and I fight.
“You don’t know Anzor?”
No, I only saw it on social media.
– A lot of people got angry when they saw Ayub Magomedov in Conor McGregor’s lobby before the fight with Khabib. Could you reassure people now, since there is nothing personal between you and Jan Blachowicz?
“It’s a business, everyone makes money from it. Everyone can train whoever they want. I watch it normally, no problem, everyone makes a living: someone trains, someone even if he had been trained by a Dagestani, I wouldn’t mind it either.
– For example, Sukhrab Magomedov (coach of Ankalaev himself. – “”)
– Suhrab couldn’t be his coach, because we’ve come a long way with him. We have been together for 10-11 years, we know each other. Although, if Sukhrab was his coach, that’s where I would be worried.
– You are called a very balanced fighter. Is there such a person in MMA today whose skills impress you, whose skills you can say you don’t know how to do?
– I don’t consider myself the best drummer, because there are a lot of guys: some have good boxing, others have legs. So I would just call Jiri Prochazka. I like his percussion technique. Admittedly, he rushes too openly, but he hits well.
– Sergey Pavlovich won his second fight by knockout in the first minute. After that, they started talking about his possible fight with Ngannou. You fought with Ngannou. How do you think this fight would go?
– At heavyweight, there are opportunities everywhere. But here in what I can’t give either here or there. Both are big and powerful guys. I would like to watch this fight.
– How long would it last?
– I think the maximum is one lap.
– You also said you like the way Nate Diaz fights. Because he has bloody fights with cuts from Diaz himself and his opponents. Can you imagine yourself in such a fight?
– Until we find ourselves in this situation, I can not say that I would like. But if it happens, I think I can. That’s life, everything happens in life. I love Nate Diaz, I love the way he fights. Although he can’t do anything, he still rushes forward and fills with blood.
Source : MatchTV
I am Sandra Jackson, a journalist and content creator with extensive experience in the news industry. I have been working in the news media for over five years. During this time, I have worked as an author and editor at various outlets producing high-quality content that attracts readers from different demographics.
