Who fights:
About hobbies
(before the fights, Ismagulov was fond of football, and Kutateladze was fond of painting)
– You started in sports with football and said that you were quite seriously involved. Are you watching now? — question Damir Ismagulov.
Now I rarely watch, I rarely watched before, I liked to play more. If I look, especially the world or European championships.
Do you remember the last thing you watched?
– I do not remember. I wanted to watch the Champions League final, but I was in flight, there was no broadcast.
– Can you name one of the modern RPL players?
– No, not now. I remember when I was training, I supported CSKA, then I liked Vagner Love, Jo, then I stopped following at all. Sometimes I can cheer for the Orenburg team, they have now entered the Premier League. Sometimes I watch Zenit matches.
– Who do you support in the dispute between Messi and Ronaldo?
– I believe that Messi is a talent and Ronaldo is a disciplined professional. I think Ronaldo is doing more to be better. And at this age, he stays at the top, it’s worth a lot. So I think Ronaldo is the best.
– Would you like to play for a professional team for 10 minutes?
– All the injuries I suffered were in football. Therefore, for another four years (while my career continues) I will not play football. As soon as I finish my business in MMA, I will play again. It was always like that: I argued and didn’t go to the gym for a while, but just played football. But now I have decided that football is one of the most traumatic sports.
– You said that you draw several hours a day. And now? — talk to Kutateladze.
– Now I don’t and haven’t for many years, because it doesn’t work with my hands. After training, the hands are shaking and it is difficult to draw. I think at the end of my career I will focus on that. Now, I can very rarely doodle anything, but that’s okay. I used to draw from 6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m., my father was a mentor, he taught me, and this time he forced me to devote myself to drawing. Only when the sun went down did we go to practice, because we had to draw in daylight. He draws plaster sculptures in pencil: Aristotle, Hippocrates, Socrates. In general, the Renaissance period inspires me a lot, and I admire the works of this period, it seems to me that it was the peak of art.
– Do you like something you drew, is there something you are reconsidering?
– I posted something in my [социальную сеть]there is something in the phone, but most of it is kept by my mother at home in Tbilisi.
– In the movies, they show that if something doesn’t work for an artist, he can crumple a sheet, throw it away and get angry. It’s true?
– Yes, yes, ha ha ha, it really pissed me off.
– Do the guys in the room know about such a hobby?
– Yes, but not all of them. Some know.
About the rivalry
– When you were given Guram Kutateladze as a rival, did you ask to give you someone else?
– No, I accepted any fight, any opponent that was offered to me. They said only Guram is free on this date. I said, “OK, let’s go.” I already needed a fight, a lot of opponents refused to fight, didn’t want to, because I’m dangerous enough for anyone, and at the same time I’m not rated. Their fears are understandable, but we have to fight with everyone.
– Which of your rivals looks like Guram?
– I never compare, but I can say that Yoel Alvarez is similar. Only Guram throws more kicks with his feet. Everyone can find an approach. I think we’ll be looking for an approach from Guram already in the cage. I know he’s a basic hitter, but I think his wrestling isn’t bad. Pick up the key in the cage.
– Did you communicate with him during the Abu Dhabi tournament in October?
No, they didn’t. This is not the opponent I would like to fight with. He only had one fight in the UFC, and I have four. I would like a top 15 opponent but they don’t want to fight me. Nobody wants to fight. So while we simmer in our cauldron.
– Guram makes a very pleasant impression while speaking. Did you watch some of his interviews or, on the contrary, do you try not to so as not to turn off the aggression in you before the fight?
– I spoke with many athletes and basically all the fighters are polite, level-headed, well-mannered. But in a cage, they become different. Aggressiveness, sporting anger are also manifested there. And so everyone I know is pretty nice people.
“I know most of the fighters in my division” He speaks Guram Kutateladze on Ismagulov’s statistics, so, yes, I knew his stats. All worthy fighters, but all will have to pass. To be honest, I don’t pay attention to the record, it means a lot, but it doesn’t matter to me. I also have 12-2, but I have 600-700 fights behind me, like many Soviet fighters. I haven’t watched any of Damir’s interviews. Sometimes I’ve watched something before other fights, but that’s usually if I stumbled upon it or someone sent me off. Usually you watch this if there are insults from the fighters, but I haven’t heard anything like that from him. We didn’t communicate in Abu Dhabi either, I don’t remember him from this tournament. I watched some of his fights, he is well trained. It can be seen that he has an excellent school of Soviet martial arts.
About details
– Guram hasn’t had a fight for nearly two years. What do you think will affect him the most?
– Downtime affects everyone differently. For some, it may even be better if he rarely fights. But the more I fight, the better I fight, because otherwise I lose sensitivity, – He speaks Ismagulov.
– How many of his fights did you watch and manage to find?
– I watched just one of his fights in the UFC and built my tactics based on that. Although in two years, in principle, you can change a lot.
– After his first UFC fight, he was very upset and said he didn’t deserve this win. Does it surprise you when fighters react like that?
– I didn’t see this moment, but if it happened, I don’t know… If the judges decided that you did enough to win, they will raise their hands.
– Last time you couldn’t gain weight and said it was because the body failed after the flight. Did you insure yourself somehow this time around?
– This time I work with a nutritionist from the USA, he flew here, drove me into battle, cooked. While everything is going according to plan, my weight is now 76 kg.
Kutateladze: I am losing weight very well. I believe a lot depends on the discipline and how you have established the weight loss program for yourself. I’m fine with weight racing, thank goodness. I don’t suffer when I remove weight. I hope all is well now and with recovery. I don’t go through hard weight races.
– What’s going on with your nose?
Yes, a small scratch. Open during sparring last week.
About the champion and the challenger
– What do you think Charles Oliveira could be dangerous for Islam Makhachev in a potential title fight? — question Ismagulov.
– Islam surprises in every battle. He’s got a good shot and at light weight, maybe the best fighter, or one of the best. It’s very interesting, 60/40 in favor of Islam.
– Do you admit that in this fight everything is decided in the position?
Yes, I don’t rule it out. Because it often happens when wrestlers meet, they work things out while standing. But I think everything will be together here: stand, wrestling, clinch.
Kutateladze: Oliveira is a versatile fighter. Unpredictable. But I think Islam will be the next champion.
– Is there any chance that Khamzat Chimaev, with whom you train in the same gym, is in your area.
– He resumed training, he feels very powerful. Our management is working on his visa, his US visa has expired, it’s in progress. I don’t think they will have time to get a visa before my fight.
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.
