“I don’t care which one of them is the champion.” Nurmagomedov Jr. returns to action

“Umar kicks like an artist paints with a brush…Here is Nurmagomedov, fighting on his feet,” is how the elder Nurmagomedov, Abdulmanap, described the younger Nurmagomedov. Father and trainer of a great fighting clan.

Umar Nurmagomedov He confidently participated in Muay Thai tournaments, then he recruited wrestlers from his relatives, but in the UFC he remained inactive for a long time. And in this sense, he is also like his brother. During his UFC career, Khabib missed three full years (April 2014 – April 2016 and November 2016 – December 2017). Umar waited out the pandemic, then was forced to abandon the show due to the death of Abdulmanap and alternated between victories and knee and shoulder injuries.

He will now fight his fifth fight in the UFC and will try to move beyond 13th place in the bantamweight rankings (up to 61.2 kg). On Saturday, March 2, Khabib’s first cousin will face Kazakhstan’s Bekzat Almakhan during the UFC Vegas 87 tournament in Las Vegas (USA).

In this interview:

— You are fighting Bekzat Almakhan, who will make his UFC debut. Did you hear this name before the fight was planned for you?

– No. I’m just an MMA fan, I’m not. I watch the main fights when the celebrity couples fight. For example, Kamaru Usman with Leon Edwards, Volkanovski fights. More good fights that everyone is watching. I can watch my friends or teammates fight, but usually there’s no time, it goes by so quickly.

— You had shoulder surgery in July 2023, did the time pass too quickly?

—Honestly, time passes very quickly. I never cease to be amazed by this. It’s like I arrived in America yesterday. And I arrived on January 14. Consider that two months have passed, but it feels like a day.

— Can you remember the best day before playing?

“I think every day I spend at home with mom, dad and the kids is good for me, because most of the time I have to leave for training camps, competitions or fights. That’s why I value the time I spend with my parents and family.

– You have had surgery. How many days have you gone without exercising and how difficult was it for you?

— A week later, I was already working on my shoulder and arm using an expander. And after a month, he gave me lots of exercises of all kinds.

— You had a cruciate ligament injury, now it’s a shoulder injury. What do you think is more difficult to restore: the knee or the shoulder?

— The shoulder, I think, is more difficult because it is more mobile. Very few athletes come back from a shoulder injury. And one in two people have torn their cruciate knee ligaments.

— When you injured your knee, Khabib said you had to pass a certain test from him, after which he would say you could return to fighting. Was there anything similar now?

– Then it meant I could wrestle, fight, spar. It’s the same now. It was just necessary for me to be able to play. And for that you have to undergo a full-fledged fight. Usually I consulted him before accepting the fight and playing.

— Khabib said he wanted to walk away from sports. What kind of communication do you have with him now, how often do you call and get advice from him?

— We called each other a few days ago. So, I write to him every day: how I am, how I feel. It’s not that he moved away from the fighting and at the same time moved away from us. He moved away from the competition, from the area. But he didn’t escape us.

— Has he watched at least one fight of your opponent or does he give additional motivational advice?

– Of course, I looked. Can provide advice and recommendations on tactics. He watches my fights too, we send him sparring all the time. Then when I get home, he corrects my mistakes. I tell you, he has not left us. He moved away from the octagon, he’s not there during fight week, but in general, the life we ​​had before continues. He is there for you in everything, he helps you in everything, as he helped you before.

— Does your maximum weight change during the off-season? Or are they roughly the same numbers?

– If two or three years ago in the off-season I could weigh 72-72 kg, now in this camp I am in very good shape. In the morning I weigh 69-70 kg. The cut is very easy for me and I feel very good.

-Who will you have in your corner besides Javier Mendez?

– Manager Ali Abdelaziz and his brother Usman.

— Champions at your weight change often: Petr Yan, Aljamain Sterling, Sean O’Malley. Do you think O’Malley is the strongest fighter in the 61.2kg weight class?

– Not like him… I don’t consider anyone the strongest. I think Islam Makhachev will reign at 70 kg for a long time. And I don’t see anyone at my weight. Sean O’Malley, I think, will beat Marlon Vera. Then with Merab [Двалишвили] It will be interesting to see. There, I also give my chances to O’Malley, because Merab doesn’t have a fight that could help him, he doesn’t knit, he can’t take a position. I think the next two fights will be comfortable for O’Malley.

— Which of them is the most dangerous for you in terms of skills?

“I don’t consider any of them a threat.” I don’t want to sound arrogant, but psychologically I have already gained a foothold, I see that I can fight with anyone. I don’t care which of them will be the champion, who they will give me tomorrow, today. No matter who I’m fighting, I’m ready to fight anyone.

— Obviously, in MMA there are five or six most popular techniques that fighters use most often to choke or apply painful locks. Do you perform rarer moves to see if you have them in your arsenal?

— These techniques have become rare because opponents do not give in, they defend themselves. And I train with guys who wrestle at a good level. As a result, it is difficult for them to do something unusual, so I work on what happens systematically.

— The last time I spoke with members of your family, I discussed with Abubakar’s father the possibility of renaming Kirovaul village to Manapkala. How did you take it?

— Of course, that wasn’t a surprise. I knew such work was underway. I am of course happy and satisfied. Actually, my uncle did a lot of good things. He has always been a person who does not forget the public, good deeds. I think it’s deserved.

Watch the live broadcast of UFC Vegas 87 on March 2 from 9:30 p.m. (Moscow time) on the Match channel! TV. Fighter”, on the federal television channel “”, broadcasting begins at 22:40 (Moscow time).