“I would like to remove the pirate and Russian flags.” How Dagestan’s top talent is preparing for his UFC debut

When we spoke a year ago, Shara surprised me with how subtly he understood the issues of MMA. “In Dagestan there are at least 5-6 Magomedovs in each class, so my name is Shara Bullet,” this is an accurate explanation of why a fighter should choose a good nickname.

Shara is like a classic fighter only with knockouts. He fights with a red beard and very voluminous hair of the same color. The fighter no longer sees in one eye after a serious illness (this did not prevent Shara from defeating 10 opponents in 10 fights). And yet, it’s like he doesn’t want to fight and organizes “Mortal Kombat” into his fights. And at the same time, he knows very well how to be open and non-aggressive towards a large audience. For example, having learned that in the first fight he would fight with the Brazilian who defeated Artem Frolov and Alexander Shlemenko, Shara immediately came up with a plot: “It will be revenge for simple and kind Russian men.”

On October 21, Shara will make his UFC debut with a fight against Brazilian representative Bruno Silva as part of the UFC 294 tournament in Abu Dhabi (UAE).

In a long interview on he talks about how his phone was confiscated, how he played football and why he shouldn’t be afraid of wrestlers, but he says:

— Today’s UFC champion is a slightly eccentric fighter Sean Strickland. Who would you currently call the strongest middleweight (category up to 84 kg) in the world?

— (after a 15-second pause) I don’t even know. I think the fight between Chimaev and Usman will determine the stronger middleweight. I think Strickland is the interim champion.

— You said that your mother is a candidate in environmental sciences. Do you remember the specific profession she recommended to you when you were a child?

— In general, on my mother’s side, all teachers are professors. Grandfather is an Honored Professor of Russia. They sent me to the multidisciplinary republican high school in Makhachkala. It was actually difficult to study there. I didn’t last long there. I did well for two years, but then it became completely difficult and I moved to another school. I don’t remember my profession, I can only say that from my mother’s side, I always wanted me to study in the best school, with the best teachers, so I entered Moscow, at RANEPA. My parents grew up during the Soviet era and education meant a lot to them. But today, I see that education does not always determine what one will become by profession. And most of the jobs you have seem to be busy, but no one asks you about your degree.

— When your parents realized you had decided to become a fighter, did they immediately support you?

— Until success came to me, they didn’t support me much, of course. Then they started supporting me.

—Has your mother watched at least one fight live?

– Yes, she watches my fights. Previously, professional sport was simply not perceived that way: it was believed that it simply ruined one’s health. There was no popularity, nothing. There was no such thing as being recognized in battle. Newspapers found out if people occupied certain places. They only said to themselves: “But my son has won something. » We don’t know what he won. It was not clear who was moving and at what level. My parents thought it was a waste of money and that’s it. For example, to participate in the Russian kickboxing championship, I needed 10,000 rubles. And each time, I only spent on travel. I didn’t always win first places. They didn’t like that I drove everywhere, wasted my nerves and worried when I lost. But now they look differently, they no longer say: “What are you doing?” » They understand that people are watching and are interested.

— You really wanted to join the UFC, but now that fight week has started, do you feel like there’s an exam coming up that you’re not ready for and need a little more time?

“I try not to think that the whole world will be watching me, I’m training as usual.” When you overthink it, you usually end up overwhelmed, indulging in every situation. You should not waste all your strength, work according to your own style, keep your pace, and that’s it. Of course, it’s difficult when you realize that the whole world is watching you and our every move is like under a microscope.

— Do you feel like you’re “inside the TV” when you see the main card participants?

— I am a maximalist and now, of course, I am happy with what I have today, and in the future I hope to lead tournaments, lead cards. Little by little, step by step, I will add.

— You fight first on the map. Does it bother you that the stands are empty?

“I think the UFC was betting on this, so that the stands would be filled from the first fight, since they seem to be waiting for my debut not only in Russia, but all over the world. And the opponent is not easy . I hope everyone has time to sit down, and I’m even thinking about not finishing the fight in the first round so everyone has time to see everything. Everyone managed to turn on their TV .

— A few days ago, Khamzat Chimaev’s opponent withdrew from the fight. Did you think you would be offered to replace you? Would you agree to replace Paolo Costa?

— I thought they wouldn’t offer it to me, I’m a beginner. They are unlikely to give a fighter who is just making his debut to someone who is already at the end of his journey. There were training sessions when Khabib fought with Horcher, but the UFC has its own plans for me, and if necessary, they will reunite me with him if they want.

— Jon Jones, recalling the fight with Gustafsson, said he came to his corner after the first two rounds and then realized it was going to be a very, very tough fight. Aren’t you afraid of the same feeling, because it seems that you consider the tournament as a vacation, but at the same time you have to fight with a tough attacker?

– Yes, I know I will have to miss a few shots and endure. In general, you need to prepare for a tough fight. I understand well. The opponent is a striker and will do anything to make me uncomfortable, unpleasant, to tire me out in combat. But I will also do something about it.

— You benefited from a six-month probationary period at USADA. Does this mean your first test was positive and you had to take them until you got a positive test?

– Yes. I took tests for six months every month several times and waited in the wings. As soon as I received a document from USADA that I could fight, they immediately sent me a contract with the opponent’s name and told me I could fight. It happened, it happened, it’s an honor for me to fight in such a tournament, thanks to Dana White, Ali Abdel-Aziz and Rizvan Magomedov for this opportunity.

— Do you have any communications with Khabib’s team? Do you receive advice from them to work on your difficulties?

– Yes, every time I meet someone, everyone talks to me about the fight, everyone worries about the fight… but they don’t understand that everything builds from the blow. If your opponent plans to fight, after several missed shots, his thoughts will be poorly generated. He will already be saved. And when you attack and save, they are different things. You stick to the plan until you miss a few good shots. That’s my whole thing: to deal several blows, and let him think not about how to fight, but how to stay unscathed.

— The UFC returned the flags to the fighters. You call yourself a pirate. Would you like to be allowed to march with a Jolly Roger flag?

– Yes, I thought about taking the pirate flag, but for now I hope to take down the Russian flag, because Russia will be offended, I think, if I don’t take it down. I would like to eliminate both the pirates and the Russians. Thanks to Dana White for creating such a policy. And his sport is outside of politics, while others create some problems. Some organizations like Glory or even the IOC have completely excluded Russians; after that, you just don’t want to be involved with them anymore. Glad Dana White has the courage to do what he wants.

— You said that this fight would be revenge for the good Russian men who supported Shlemenko in the fight with your future opponent. Can you separately convey something to the men of Siberia who will support you?

“I want to convey to ordinary good Russian men: I am on the shores of the UFC, as you wanted. Turn on the TV at five o’clock Moscow time, you don’t need to wake up at five in the morning. I hope to achieve a great victory and dedicate it to you. Because before I became popular, many people wrote to me and commented everywhere. Even before all this, I was interesting. I felt the support of fans from all over Russia, from the CIS countries, I came from the people, I consider myself a champion of the people, I would not have remained of interest to anyone, but the people pushed me forward and I became interesting to the public.

— Three reference questions: How much do you weigh now?

– 89 kg (46 hours remain before the weigh-in, Shara must display 84.4 kg – ).

-Who will be in your corner?

— Dalgat Abdullaev, taekwondo coach. Then my old friend Makhach and head coach Gor Azizyan.

— What music are you going to release on?

—Tupac Amaru Shakur.

Watch the live broadcast of the UFC 294 tournament on October 21 from 21:00 Moscow time on and Match! Fighter”, as well as on the sites matchtv.ru and sportbox.ru.