“I am in contact with Khabib every day.” How Nurmagomedov’s brother is preparing for another UFC fight

On January 4, Khabib told his teammates that he would be spending less time in MMA. The first person to test Nurmagomedov’s decision on himself will be 26-year-old Umar Nurmagomedov. On the evening of January 14 in Las Vegas, Khabib’s second cousin will face Raoni Barcelos (17-3) and will try to win for the 16th time in his career.

Umar has already had to play without Khabib’s support in the corner. But now you have to perform knowing that Khabib might never appear in the corner and in training again.

– Your last fight came to a judges decision. Are fights right for you when you can’t win in advance?

– Don’t say it’s bad. The main thing was that they raise their hand, you win and get out of there. I tried to finish it, I used all my skills, but Nate Maness in the fight with me just sat down and didn’t try to get up, he just defended himself. And when a person is in such a position, it is difficult to end it.

It’s such a thing – because it will fall. Hit by a blow – finished ahead of schedule. If they surrendered you and managed to strangle you – too. But it happens that you go into the painful, but at the same time you risk your position, you can find yourself at the bottom. And you have to minimize the risks and win the fights.

– Which of your 15 won fights are you the most unhappy?

It is enough for me to have won.

– This time you probably won’t have Khabib Nurmagomedov around. Did you know this would happen when you just left to prepare for battle?

– Not. It was planned differently, but all is well. I am in contact with Khabib every day: he calls, asks questions about both the weight and the fight plan.

– And how did you learn of his decision? No news, but you weren’t in the reunion photo.

Certainly not news. We sometimes discussed this topic, I often asked him: “How long are you going to last?” It is the hardest work. And his decision wasn’t made out of resentment or anything like that. Since there are a lot of flights, it takes a lot of time and energy. He will not live to a ripe old age if he expends so much emotion and energy. I’m glad he decided that way, and I’m just supporting him.

– Who will assist you?

— Javier Mendez, my training partner Kasum Kasumov and my manager Ali Abdelaziz.

– Who, besides Khabib, turned out to be a coach in your team. That is to say, to be a person who not only performs well, but who can also explain?

— Islam Makhachev. Very good. He sometimes leads training, explains everything, shows everything.

Is Islam as a second different from Khabib? After all, their temperament is quite different.

“I don’t think they’re very different, because they’re very good at the sport. It’s worth it when you have someone around who can tell you the right thing. These are perfect corners – both Khabib and Islam. As soon as you get to the corner they set you up, charge you. If you lose a round, they won’t tell you that you won it. They will tell you what to add. But other guys in the team are very good at suggesting: Gadzhi, Islam Mammadov, Zubaira Tukhugov.

– If not for the fight, could you become one of the main training partners of Islam Makhachev for the fight with Alex Volkanovski? After all, you are about the same height as Alex Volkanovski and you also have good low kicks and good movement.

– Of course not. Islam and I have a difference of about 10-12 kg, and I was not considered a training partner. It is a very big difference for me to compete with Islam. There are other guys there: Mavlidin, Gadzhi, Shara (probably Movlid Khaibulaev, 19-0 in MMA; Gadzhi Rabadanov, 19-4 and Sharap Gitinov. – “”). They’ll help prepare, and I wasn’t even considered. I will not fly to Australia, because the team has other departures, everything is planned. Islam has already put together a team for himself, and there will be everyone he needs who will emulate Volkanovski and his work.

– Not many people remember, but when Khabib started his UFC career, he challenged BJ Penn, Nate Diaz via social media and promised to smash Anthony Pettis’ face. Do you plan to do the same since you are currently at the same stage of your career?

– I tried to do it, I tried to call Ricky Simon, Pedro Munoz … It is clear that the top five in the ranking 100% will not agree to fight with me. He called those who were closer, but they continued to move away, they found reasons. And I decided that if I won and had a good winning streak, they weren’t going anywhere. They will have to fight. But now they will try not to accept them no matter what I do.

Remember those messages from Khabib about Diaz and Penn?

“I didn’t even have a phone then. The maximum was 6300 (a popular model from Nokia. – “”), probably. Me and [в популярной соцсети] recorded only in 2015. So I don’t remember everything.

How did you watch the first fights of Khabib?

“I remember those fights, of course. When Khabib was fighting in America, we always met somewhere to search, to find connections, to know when it was going to be. I watched all of Khabib’s fights in the UFC. I remember being worried. And now I understand how worried my family was.

Did you understand at the age of 14 how important it was? Or rather some kind of adventure they were planning: a brother who fights with someone?

– I wouldn’t say it was seen as a game. I realized it was an important competition. I was very worried, I think, just like adults are worried.

– Usman Nurmagomedov, your brother, became the Bellator champion in November. Where is the belt stored?

– The belt is stored at the parental home. We have a little corner over there, where there are mugs, belts, a few more of our accomplishments.

– You had a cool phrase at a press conference in Kazan: “If you don’t give up your seat on the bus to a woman, you can consider yourself dead.” Did you read it somewhere or did you make it up?

“I remember saying it, but I can’t say whether I heard it somewhere or not. We all read somewhere: something remains in us, something flows. I can’t answer for sure, but I wouldn’t directly consider myself the author of that sentence.