“They recommended drinking 11 liters a day.” He spent only 7 minutes in the UFC and received an improved contract

The Russian-Uzbek athlete will face 195 centimeter Ryan Spann, nicknamed Superman, at UFC Vegas 91. And Guskov’s story shows how willing the UFC is to promote knockout fighters – with a track record of 1-1 in the organization, he gets a very popular opponent and a lot of money to agree to fight.

From Guskov’s interview with you will learn:

— On February 12, after beating Zach Pauga, you said you wanted to fight in 3-4 months. As a result, you fight in 2.5. Can you explain why?

— First, they gave me a very good and interesting TOP-11 opponent. Second, they upgraded the contract and offered him four more fights. We obtained very advantageous conditions that there was no point in refusing.

— Did you upgrade the contract after winning last time or by offering to fight Ryan Spann?

– Second. One of the conditions was that it was necessary to accept the fight with Spann in order for the contract to be increased, extended and improved (the base contract in the UFC is 10,000 dollars for an appearance and the same for a victory – “”).

— Spann is a pretty remarkable fighter, but he has two defeats. Don’t you think the UFC matchmakers want to try to correct his stats at your expense?

— People’s thoughts may be different, I don’t pay any attention to that. If this is the case, we will crush their dreams and plans.

Or maybe they liked the last performance. They said they loved the energy I brought that brightened up the tournament. So I think that’s why they want to see me more often. Even then, they told me to stay in America: “In two weeks we will give you another fight.” » Then we refused because I missed home, and then we returned home – just in time.

— Which Spanna fight gave you more information and allowed you to build your tactics?

“There was no point working on any tactics, because five weeks is not enough time to develop something specifically for Spann. It turns out that I simply continued my previous preparation. But I saw a lot in the fight with Nikita Krylov and Anthony Smith. In principle, the last two fights always provide the most information, because more or less it is clear in what form, in what state of mind the fighter is.

— Explain to the fans why you are dangerous to Ryan Spann?

— I don’t want to brag, but I have at least 15 knockouts. I’m a puncher, so I think if I touch him he’ll feel bad.

— Since February, you have flown to the United States, fought, returned and flown to America again. What does acclimatization look like in this case?

“The first time I arrived was three weeks before the fight. This was actually my first trip to America, and I felt a real acclimatization when I arrived for the second time. But this time I happened to be in Vegas five weeks before the tournament. I managed to get used to everything.

—And what is the most difficult thing about changing the time to 10 o’clock?

— Sleep is not so bad, you stopped taking melatonin and you sleep normally. The feeling that it is very difficult to breathe is more pressing. The body is soft, not in good condition. If you walk and live a normal life, in principle you do not feel acclimatization as such, you breathe normally. But if you start doing physical activity, that’s it, your breathing is the first to collapse. You walk around like a boiler for a week and a half or two, just that feeling. And there is no problem sleeping.

—In America, can you train a little harder, because the people are foreigners and you don’t mind letting them down?

– Yes, in our gym too this usually happens, only on a brotherly wave. But we fight without sparing ourselves at all…

This is when it comes to sparring, because you have to make it as close to fighting as possible. And here the guys most often work the way you work. You can add stiffness, and they will add stiffness, but we’re all professionals, they make money too. If you are too harsh somewhere, you hurt a person and that’s it, he will stop making money. A lot depends on it. There is hardness, it is always present, but without fanaticism.

— In the 2.5 months between your fights, have you knocked anyone down?

– Discussed. Reversal is only the second step. And the first step is to talk to your opponent, but without starting to finish him off. It happened, of course.

— Alex Pereira became the champion in your weight category. How do you find it in this status?

– I would be interested in watching him against a wrestler, exactly the one who fights. On drums, of course, he’s one of the best, coming from Glory. His fight with our compatriot Magomed Ankalaev would be very interesting. They’re stepping up this fight now, and it looks like Magomed has said he’s ready to work on his feet, I’d like to see that.

– Whether standing or on the ground, if this fight took place, who do you think would be the favorite?

– Between them? Well, I’ll be biased, of course, Magomed.

— You went to train in Stary Oskol, you fought in Moscow with Volkov and Adam Bogatyrev. Who do you think is the most difficult sparring partner for you personally?

— Many people can be distinguished. There are people who are very good at wrestling. We have Maga Saidov in our gym, he is very good at hitting. There is Shamil Magomedov, his fight is very strong. You said about Stary Oskol, I would mention Vadim Nemkov there, one of the best, I think, fighters I had to train with. Now he’s getting even bigger, so, of course, I’d love to see him in the UFC.

— Vadim said he could no longer handle 93 kg and moved to heavyweight. Is cutting easy for you? How much water do you drink per day?

— They recommend that I drink 11 liters a day, then eight, then less. I can’t do much – my body is starting to function very poorly. I’m starting to sweat too much. From 101-102 kilos I go down normally, I already have a fairly developed process. In just a few visits to the sauna, you lose three to four kilos. There are swimming pools here: one with cold water, one with hot water. You sit in the hot water, then go to the sauna, sit again, a lot of things fly away. But you have to drink water, because here in Vegas it is very dry, you even have a dry nose, and if you drink water, your usual body will release it very well.

All UFC tournaments are broadcast live on and Match! Fighter”. The UFC Vegas 91 tournament will take place on April 27 in Las Vegas (USA). Watch the live broadcast from 02:00 Moscow time on Sunday on the channel, and also from 23:00 on Saturday on Match ! Fighter” and the websites matchtv.ru and sportbox.ru.

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