“When I left for Germany, I hadn’t been to Dagestan for 18 years.” Abus Magomedov gives advice to Chimaev and talks about his trip to his homeland

33-year-old Abusupyan Magomedov and his parents moved from Dagestan to Germany in 2005, practiced wrestling and fought their first fight under MMA rules in 2010. In 2022, Magomedov made his UFC debut , but in his second fight he lost to future champion Sean Strickland (70 days after the fight with Abus, Strickland won the UFC belt, defeating Israel Adesanya).

To close out the defeat, Abus had to travel to Sao Paulo to meet the very dangerous Brazilian Caio Borralho, whose only defeat in 15 fights occurred in 2015. About 30 seconds into this interview, Magomedov will say “if I’m crying, this won’t help anyone,” but that won’t happen because of a difficult opponent.

– … is there a desire to cry?

– There is a desire. Huge.

– What ?

– From hunger.

– Well, go eat, tell me what you were advised to do during the interview.

– No, in fact you get used to it, even if it is the most unpleasant part for any athlete. You wouldn’t wish it on your enemy.

— What and how much do you eat after gaining weight?

— I try not to eat sweets. Meat because it takes a long time to digest. Rice, potatoes, pasta, chicken, fish. I try to eat something every hour and a half to two hours. A little.

— Did I understand correctly that now the UFC can distribute food every day during fight week?

– Yes, the week of the fight they start preparing food for you based on the weight you need to reach. But it is such food, my brother, that I ate and listened to the radio. You eat it and it’s like you’re chewing plastic. They give me eggs, I’ve never really eaten them, but now I have to.

— They don’t distribute low-calorie kurze and khinkal yet, do they?

– No, but it’s time, I think, in 2-3 years they will begin to master it. After weighing myself, I still try to eat something else because I want fresh, cooked, hot food. And there, they give it in lunch boxes that have to be reheated. After such a diet, you want to enjoy your food.

— How to find a place to eat in Sao Paulo?

— I have a lot of friends in Brazil, some of them came, trained or trained in our gym in Germany. There is a person who trained with us and we have been in contact ever since, corresponding. I called him as my corner man, he’s local, he knows what’s here and how. I probably wouldn’t have decided to go somewhere randomly.

— Have you ever been informed of areas where you should not go?

— Yesterday, there was a funny incident. We went for a walk in the park, right under our windows. Rinat Fakhretdinov (also fights on this card. – ) says: “Let’s take a walk.” They came, he said, “Take a photo.” The place is beautiful.” I say: “Where is your phone? And he says he left it at home, the coach said it’s better not to take it with him here. But actually such a thing exists. Yesterday we wanted to go out to eat. And my friend, who was from Europe, suggested I walk, but a local guy told me it’s better to take a taxi. Moreover, locals immediately see the newcomer. Even if I come to Dagestan now, they will see that I am not local, that I live outside Dagestan. It’s the same here. We are told that this can happen in any region, all it takes is for a person to arrive on a scooter, cover their face with a mask, point something at you and take your phone and wallet.

— Tell us what happened in your fight with Sean Strickland (Magomedov lost by technical knockout in the second round. — “”)?

— I still don’t have a concrete answer to this question. I think there were several factors. The bottom line is that I overtrained. I was already in my third camp without a fight. At first I was preparing, the fight was postponed, I resumed training and again my opponent withdrew. And when they said it was possible to fight with Sean, I took that as great news, but I decided I had to step on the gas, train and plow the countryside. And the pressure from outside, all together. I can say that I definitely gained experience.

— If Khamzat Chimaev fights Strickland, what would you advise him?

– Don’t force things. I myself am interested in this fight to see how Khamzat can show his skills. Strickland is a troublesome opponent for Khamzat: he is easy to knock down, but difficult to hold him down. A very extraordinary fighter. You throw 3-4 punches, everything hits the shoulder and chest.

—How would you practice standing for a rematch with him?

— I was currently training with American Top Team. I liked that there are a lot of people changing there and everyone has their own approach. It seemed to me that I had three weeks to prepare, but I could train with different opponents: Aliaskhab Khizriev, Ramazan Kuramagomedov, some other local fighters. Very good lefties. If there is a chance of revenge, then I will prepare for the TCA and play differently.

— You went to Dagestan not so long ago, but, if I remember correctly from our last interview, you hadn’t been there for more than 10 years before this trip.

— I’m not 18. Since 2005, I have been in Germany. And now I stayed a month, I visited all my relatives and friends, I saw the neighborhoods where I grew up, the school, the gymnasium. Nostalgia.

— How do you feel when you arrive where you were born, but you haven’t been there for 18 years?

“I remember everything because we were welcomed very warmly. » Wherever you went, you had to spend the night. It seems to me that I have gained a few extra pounds somewhere, which I will remove today. The roads became better, people began to live better, the standard of living seemed to be higher.

— Are the products tastier than in Germany?

– I noticed that, yes. In our house, whatever fruit you eat, it tastes the same. Like a plum, like an apple, like a pear. And I was in Dagestan in the summer, everything was delicious. I wanted to eat more and more. That’s right, on the second day I was poisoned, I took vitamins for a few days and that’s it. Then it was great.

– Cheese, dried meat, urbech – have any of these products been imported to Germany?

— And in Germany there are a lot of Dagestan products. They carry all this, the price is a little more expensive, but finding it is not a problem. You can buy everything in Dagestan in Germany.

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