“Petya in perfect shape can beat Umar.” Kamil Gadzhiev analyzes Yan’s fight and compares him to Nurmagomedov

For a long time it seemed that between Pierre Yan (born 1993) and first cousin of Khabib, Umar Nurmagomedov (he was born in 1996), the gap is infinitely greater than three years. Umar had not yet started fighting in the UFC when Peter won the championship belt. But from the first week of spring 2024, they fought seven days apart and now appear to be promising competitors. Yang broke his losing streak in fights with the peaks and barely defeated Song Yadong. Umar suffered a slight knockdown in a fight against UFC newcomer Bekzat Almahan, but defeated him with wrestling. Yan is the fourth number in the ranking in the category up to 61.2 kg, Umar is tenth. Umar says he can defeat Yan sooner than expected. Peter responds: “I was a champion at his age, but he couldn’t. Of course it hurts him. » And this is what Kamil Gadzhiev says.

— Peter Yang defeated Song Yadong. Did you watch this fight?

“I watched this fight today, already knowing the outcome. Petya lost the first round, but he had to get involved. Honestly, I had no doubt about his victory. Song Yadong seems like a name, but it’s not really great. Peter deservedly won, but the first question is: what’s next? He must make another attempt to reach the size. To do this, he must find a suitable opponent. Maybe Marlon Vera. Now he lost to O’Malley, but he and Ian could have a nice fight.

– And Umar Nurmagomedov?

– There is such an option. But this fight, of course, is for the post-Soviet space or for Abu Dhabi. It’s an option and it’s a very cool test for Umar – if you’re speaking from the UFC bell tower, you have to test Umar. Everyone refused to fight him, they couldn’t find an opponent for him.

— How would you perceive this fight and do you think that the 14-17 year old audience will swear a lot on the Internet?

— Yes, people aged 14 to 17 will always take some of Umar’s statements in the media and resonate with them. Petya doesn’t go out of his way to talk, he’s the kind of guy who likes to talk. But I would say that it is a duel of new striking techniques, and I would call it: the Siberian school against Dagestan. And it is in this context that I decided to move away from trash talk. Honestly, today I don’t even blame Umar, who says: “Give me one and two in one evening.” He has to do it because the industry demands it today. There, he doesn’t insult anyone. If Umar had gotten personal and insulted anyone, it would have been wrong. But I think neither he nor Petya will allow it. They’ll argue more about something else: who’s cooler today.

— Quote from Umar — “I can dirty Petr Yan”…

– There’s just the word “smear”… someone’s already used it, right?

In the original it is used as a smash. It is already, as you know, like a corporate word and that does not entail any insult. Don’t think I’m justifying Umar now. But for me, it’s just a challenge. Moreover, knowing that Petya can pick up such things. He is also a skilled scumbag. I repeat, this word is borderline for many, but for those who know the context that “defame” is an expression of Habib, this word actually repeats the statement of his elder brother Umar. This is acceptable, but we are already on the brink.

— In general, if we talk about Petr Yan’s performance, what impression did he make on you? Would you say it’s near its peaks?

– Yes, we will not see the best version of Peter Yan again. Objectively, the issue here is not age, but probably the fact that everyone has their own resource, in any sport. Petya has been at the top for many years in a competitive weight category, putting up tough fights. It’s probably already difficult.

—And Peter doesn’t remind you of Vladimir Mineev in his temperament. Like an athlete who relies on his arrogance, but, as a rule, such fighters quickly get bored or become uninteresting?

– Yes, only Petya fully opened up in this sense of the word, but Volodya did not, because Volodya had many restrictions, and Petya fought more, and his fights were discussed. Let’s say it clearly: Volodya walked in a sort of flash. The fight with Ismailov interests everyone. After the fight with Ismailov, everyone expects something from Vovchik again and Vovchik disappears. But in general, yes, they have a similar type. You know, he’s a street guy, he’s bold. In fact, Sanya Shlemenko looks like them. Start Shlemenko.

– Can you imagine today, a fighter with what name and style can defeat Umar Nurmagomedov?

– Well, someone like Petya in excellent shape, perhaps. A fighter who offers a very high tempo, moves a lot and hits hard. Because Umar fights well from a standing position, that means he would try to fight here too, but then he might miss. That is, whoever gives it the rhythm probably could, but I repeat, this is a conversation about Petr Yan at his best.

— Should Peter agree to fight at this stage of his career?

– I think so, because Petya has long been at the level where for him fights should be a challenge, they should be movement, hype, money. This fight has all of the above. Yes, he can lose to Umar, he can win against Umar, but it will be epic. We will all talk about it and so on. Isn’t that what boys fight for? It’s better to take risks here – I think Petya agrees with me.

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