“Nemkov has a good fight.” Perhaps the future UFC champion of Russia – defeated Fedor’s students in Fedor’s sport

At the end of 2012, Fedor Emelianenko and Vadim Finkelstein made sure that MMA was considered an official sport in Russia under the name “mixed martial arts” (fortunately, this particular version of the name only took root in the documents officials). Now people who “barely understood” boxing, wrestling or judo could switch to MMA in a more understandable way. At the end of 2016, Magomed Ankalaev won his second world championship and became the first honorary master of sports in this discipline. Two years later, Ankalaev signed a contract with the UFC and lost in fantastic fashion. The 25-year-old Teletl native beat Paul Craig in various ways for about 14 minutes 45 seconds, but at the very end of the third round he hit a triangle and at around 4:59 a.m. he hit a sign of surrender.

Ankalaev made this defeat a reality with a succession of eight victories and is now aiming for the ninth. In fact, Magomed is a ready-made UFC champion, but more charismatic opponents and his own modesty are not letting him win the title. Ankalaev went out for a long time in clothes with the inscription Gorets and fits these letters better than the letters of the UFC.

– When you played as an amateur, did you have personal communication with Fedor Emelianenko?

– There was no long communication, and when they met, they talked. Several times I heard that he commented when I was fighting, saying that I was a good fighter. Of course, it is very motivating when such fighters say you succeed, what will happen next. It’s very busy.

– Before the interview, I looked out the window, saw a mosque on Olympiysky Prospekt and thought that I had not yet seen the answer to this question, although everyone and everyone Caucasian fighters have previously been asked about training in Las Vegas. .. And in Las Vegas, do you have a place where you can pray?

— Yes, yes, there are mosques, about five or six. Not so big of course, but where we usually go is also quite big. It is about a seven-minute drive from UFC PI (UFC Fighters Training Center – “”). We go there on Fridays, and the other days we usually do [намаз].

Do they recognize you as a UFC fighter there?

– In Vegas, yes. And in the stores they discover, they follow here, apparently, the UFC. They come, take pictures, ask when and what.

– I spoke with Maxim Grishin a week ago. He said that you have a good chance against current champion Jiří Prochazka because he attacks aggressively and you catch very well with counters. And when you watched the fight between Teixeira and Prochazka, did you think of something like that?

“I watched that fight, but it’s not the best fight. Because both made mistakes. Teixeira was very wrong – he could have finished the fight earlier than expected somewhere. Prochaska rushed in, I don’t think he will be a threat to me. I think in all aspects – in the rack and on the court – I’m not weaker than him.

– Khabib once called the fight between Eddie Alvarez and Justin Gaethje a fight between two alcoholics at the bar. Do you have similar feelings from the fight between Prochazka and Teixeira?

“They were just fighting. There was no technology. Just stupidly cut. People love these fights.

– Aren’t you very good?

– I like to fight with more tactical skill, miss a little, do more myself.

– Before the fifth round, what did you think? Who will have the belt?

– Teixeira won the fight, I think. No more wrestling, no more takedowns. Even more blows, shook him several times.

– Did your trainer Sukhrab Magomedov somehow characterize this fight?

– Not. We watched, we watch all the battles from the tops, we look for mistakes, we look where we can translate.

Have you ever regretted not having fought Jon Jones? Still, he looked like a bit stronger athlete in the context of this division. Now that he’s gone heavy, you’re unlikely to encounter him.

– Who knows? He’s in business, I’m in business too, maybe this fight will happen. I think he’s unlikely to succeed at heavyweight and he can go back.

– Why do you think he won’t succeed at heavyweight?

– I see what kind of guys are fighting there, what kind of blows they have. I think Jon Jones is very small for this weight class, so it will be difficult for him. Even if he wins, it won’t be easy for him.

– Have you personally met Prochazka during your time in the UFC?

– He secured the title fight in Abu Dhabi, and I fought there. We passed by and that was it.

– Can’t you imagine yourself in the role of Khabib before the fight with Conor, to meet him somewhere and tell him “I’m going to kick your ass”? Probably the most famous video with them before Conor became the champion.

– I don’t think about it yet, we still have opponents, scheduled fights. It makes no sense to blow on someone or do anything. As long as there’s Smith, and you have to go through it.

– What is the most dangerous thing about Anthony Smith, what can bother you before a fight with him?

“Honestly, nothing worries me. I feel good, I’m trained. But there’s no understatement, he’s a very experienced fighter. He has as many defeats as I have wins. He’s been in this business for a long time, more than 50 fights behind his back – that’s huge baggage. You can’t go wrong (Anthony Smith’s stats are 36-16, the American had his first fight before Magomed Ankalaev came to the section of Greco-Roman wrestling – “”).

– You have 16 wins and not a single win per reception. And you, in principle, can do pain and suffocation – does it work in training?

– My fights are usually in the pit so you rarely see submissions from me. I don’t dwell on that very much. If there is an option, of course I will. In training I’ve done them a few times, I can choke, I can get out in hand.

– After the fight between Vadim Nemkov and Corey Anderson, they began to ask about your joint training with Vadim (Ankalaev beat Nemkov in the amateur – “”), about your help for him. You and Corey practiced a lot together, didn’t you?

I’ve known Corey for a long time. As I flew to America for the first time, he helped me, I helped him. He’s a very tough guy, he’s always going forward, a good fight. His endurance surprised me. I get along with a lot and can take them all, but he’s not giving up his position. Tired or not tired, he goes all the way.

“What should Nemkov do to prepare for it?”

– Vadim is a very strong guy, he has a good catch. But he has to work on his stamina. And psychologically, it’s good. And so he has everything.

“As far as stamina, it always seems like you win pretty easily. Was there some sort of fight where you got really tired?

– I think these are the first fights when I was fighting in Akhmat (WFCA promotion – ), because at that time there were such experiences, you lose or you do not lose, because this zero defeat is always annoying. You could say I got tired at the WFCA. And how I got into the UFC after the loss, there was nothing like I got tired, that I couldn’t. And I no longer worry about whether I lose or win, I understand that it is not up to us, the Almighty gives the victory, and we just do whatever we can. There are no experiences, only a slight jitters.

– Among those you have defeated, which one would you least like to fight a second time?

– I think there are no fighters, which I would think that I could not defeat him a second time. There is no one I would avoid.