“I see that Poirier has one and only chance…” 5 questions to Kamil Gadzhiev on the Islam Makhachev fight

June 1 in Newark Islam Makhachev will defend his lightweight championship belt against Dustin Poirier. The current level of Islam is such that in a title fight almost no one believes in their opponent, and it is not only a question of Makhachev’s skills and training quality. Over the past 3-4 years, the UFC has failed to develop a dangerous competitor among lightweights – the main principle of the organization has not worked. Usually, organizing a heavy-duty meat grinder for the 6-8 best athletes in the division, the promotion, after several difficult fights, received the best candidate for the title fight, but now the situation is different – the best lightweights fight regularly. other and now there is no one left in the division’s elite without defeats. 35-year-old Dustin Poirier looks like an underdog not only because of Makhachev – in his last five fights he recorded two early defeats, not even a year has passed since Poirier was knocked out by Justin Gaethje . In this context, it is difficult to consider Islam Makhachev as a threat. Promoter Kamil Gadzhiev had both experience as a second in a title fight and experience in holding title fights, so we asked him exactly five detailed questions. Let us recall the initial data once again

Question #1. Aren’t you surprised that Dustin Poirier was an underdog before the fight with Makhachev with a rating of 5.5 or 6. For comparison, when Khabib fought with Conor McGregor, Conor received about 3.

– That’s because Conor had a whole series of arguments. Always. That is to say, it is a person who possesses a certain magic. Something that brings him out even at the most unpredictable times. This also applies to Fedor Emelianenko. I also include him in this category of fighters. These are people you can always bet on. Remember the third round of the fight between Conor and Khabib. If Conor had been fresher, then one of his left hooks could have landed in Khabib’s jaw. And there, for example, everything could end. Another thing is that if Conor had been fresher, it’s unlikely Khabib would have fit into that wheelhouse. Regardless, McGregor still had arguments…

I don’t understand what Poirier’s arguments are. How can he surprise? It is not physically stronger than Islam. It is weaker than Islam. He is inferior to him in terms of speed. In stand-up, he won’t surprise Islam. In wrestling in general, no one will surprise Islam with anything: both from the point of view of canvas transfers and from grappling, I generally keep silent. Honestly, I don’t see the guy’s luck. I consider him to have only one chance, to which I give 5%. If Islam just makes you lose weight. We don’t know what Islam looked like today and what it was six months ago. Maybe he’s overfed, maybe his body is changing, his body structure is changing. Maybe he just gained an extra kilo, he’s growing. These are indirect factors that we cannot know about. Therefore, if I were a bookmaker, I would leave these odds.

Question #2. Who do you think is more necessary as the winner of the fight for Dana White: Dustin Poirier, an American fighter loved in his country, or Islam Makhachev, perhaps less understandable for the American public, but who can overtake Khabib in the series of UFC victories?

— Here, of course, everyone has their advantages. Dustin is advantageous because he has many potential rivals: everyone will attack him at the same time. Conor included. He has the opportunity to play again every month with someone who beat him. But! The UFC is the kind of league that doesn’t want to hear that it has a weak champion. Or randomly. Therefore, the UFC values ​​the idea that its champion is the strongest man in the world at his weight. Islam fits this role. Dustin – definitely not.

Well, especially with Islam, there are still two trajectories: it’s a fight with Arman [Царукяном], no matter how. And a fight with Leon Edwards (UFC welterweight champion – ). We can make some noise at 77 kg.

Question No. 3. There is an opinion that Islam Makhachev has practically no audience in America. Is this the case and can you say that Islam Makhachev is perhaps more popular in the United States than some American fighters?

– Certainly. People generally interested in martial arts watch it. These are MMA fans in America who follow every UFC tournament, every champion. They are interested in confrontation. Moreover, they are often not even attached to nationalities. For example, people in Washington support the Washington Capitals and especially their captain Alexander Ovechkin. It’s part of the team, right? It’s the same thing here. In principle, among MMA fans, nationality often takes second place to the level of the athlete himself.

Question #4: You were in Ali Bagautinov’s corner when he fought dominant champion Demetrious Johnson for the UFC belt. What do you think is important to say as a second to a fighter who is going to fight against a very serious opponent?

– I won’t say anything new. I believe the underdog has a huge psychological advantage. That is, it is much easier for a person in whom he does not believe. The most important thing is that it doesn’t demotivate you. So that you are a little harmful in your own way, ambitious and do your best. If the underdog forces the fight, then in principle he already emerges as a hero of the situation. In the case of Ali and Demetrius, many non-sporting factors intervened (two weeks before the fight, Bagautinov fought with Rustam Khabilov in Albuquerque – ), they affect psychology. I still believe that if Ali had entered this fight in a good psychological state, then the judges would have ultimately had a lot of doubts about who to give [победу]. In terms of potential, Ali wasn’t the underdog they were trying to make him out to be.

But here, it’s yet another story. Poirier seems like a good guy, he does charity work, but it seems to me that tomorrow he will go out just to earn money. To be honest, I can’t even find words that could motivate him. Are you talking about luck? But he had already lost everything he could. I’d just tell him to relax. I would say: fight, shoot, make this battle memorable. Try not to let yourself be translated. Because if Islam transfers you, then maybe the battle will end immediately. Try to keep the fight in a standing position for a little while.

Question #5. On June 29, Conor McGregor will reportedly face Michael Chandler. And this will be his first fight since July 2021. It seems Khabib’s team has denied any interest in fighting him. What chance would you give the UFC to try to match Makhachev against McGregor if Conor won in July? Just give the probability as a percentage.

— The probability is not small, because we have to look for options for Makhachev. And there is a story here. A story of war, a story of hatred. Yes, there is Arman, it’s revenge. There’s Leon Edwards, it’s a purely sporting story. Let’s say Islam wins two belts, but there is nothing else. No one created a background. And that’s why Conor here is a good decision. I would say the probability of a fight with him in 2025 is 20%.

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