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Khabib just had an interview on Match TV. Have updated the post with the whole thing.
https://matchtv.ru/boxing/matchtvne...hel_na_Match_TV_rasskazat_o_svoih_planah_LIVE
UPDATE:
About being nominated "Athlete of the year".
- Khabib has been voted "Russian athlete of the year" by Russian fans.
- Honoured to be considered the best by the people, not only journalists and experts.
About return to UFC
- Dana White and I are constantly in touch - we have not discussed the vacation of title yet. I think this is due to the fact that the UFC really wants me to continue my career. This is understandable - I spent 9 years in UFC, I had a lot of fights, became the champion, defended the title, never lost, I have a huge fan base from all over the world. Intentions of the UFC are clear to me, I do not blame them.
It's no secret that they are persuading me to return. They offer better conditions, choice of fighters - but it is hard to surprise me with fighters, they have no one good to offer me. Soon, in a couple of weeks, we will meet with Dana and discuss the conditions.
Is there a scenario where we'll see you in promotion again?
- I wouldn't want such scenario to exist.
Is there an athlete who would call you out and force you to make a come back?
- Only Mohammed Ali, but he's not with us anymore unfortunately.
About Gaethje fight
- It was a tough camp, lot of injuries. I had broken my toe. It was October 7th - two weeks before the fight. Before that, in mid-September, I got to the hospital - I was very sick, spent 10 days there, 5 of them in intensive care. I had a bad virus. By the end of September, I started training. The camp was very hard. And in the fight itself, I fought with a broken toe.
Did it bother you during fight?
- Yes, if you saw, at the end of the fight I got Gaethje in a triangle, and it was this toe that got stuck between the fence - I broke it again. In the octagon, I didn't feel it. If you watch the footage
About the most unexpected congratulations after the fight and from Conor
- The most important was the congratulations of Vladimir Vladimirovich (Putin). When athletes, organizations, clubs congratulate you, this is one thing, but when you are congratulated by the president of the largest country in the world, this is a different feeling.
But I didn't notice Conor's congratulations, I need to check.
About Top-3 in LW
- In our weightclass, there's always a competitive environment. In the UFC, all of the highlight fights are always inlightweight. The best fight of the year was Dustin Poirier's comeback against Dan Hooker. My comeback against Gaethje was a good fight as well.
At the moment, I would say Dustin, Conor and Islam Makhachev in the top 3. Makhachev still needs a top-5 fight, but skill wise he's up there.
Who do you think will take your belt?
- Winner of the Conor McGregor - Dustin Poirier pair. I think they will fight for the belt.
About the most difficult fight
- I didn't have easy fights. Maybe from the outside it seemed so, because I beat the up. But the hardest was in 2012 when I was 24. It was a fight against Gleison Tibau. Back then he was on a good winning streak, he was a top 15 best LW. This fight was difficult both emotionally and physically. I can also note Pat Healy, RDA and Conor.
And the most important one?
- October 6, 2018. Then we proved to the whole world that I, my team, our whole country - we can compete at the highest level. After that, my life changed, I received a lot of attention. Almost the whole world watched our fight. We even broke the record of the 2018 FIFA World Cup. About 15 years ago it was impossible to believe in it, that an MMA fight would be more watched than WC final.
For me, the result was in the first place. But on my part there was also a promotion - I was present there, drove weight, entered the cage, ended the fight, forcing him to knock on the floor.
Ahead of the fight, your opponent put in a lot of effort to promote that fight. Did you try to promote it, or did you just focus on result?
- For me, the result was in the first place. But on my part there was also a promotion, even though I was B side - I was present there, cut weight, entered the cage, ended the fight, forcing him to tap. So my presence is hard to deny.
But I mean maybe he was saying thing he didn't really mean
- You know I often answer these questions about him promoting the fight and I did nothing. I think those questions come from people that don't wish me success. I was there and I forced him to tap.
Yes, we all saw it. But now you have your own promotion, and you have to promote and not fight. EFC
- We are working very hard on our promotion. We bought it completely at the end of November, and already in December we held two great events in Moscow and Nizhny Novgorod. Next year there are also big plans - 5 events until April. We want another 5 events till the end of the year. There is a lot of work to be done.
How do you set priorities in life now - there is promotion, there is a agricultural business, there is a family?
- I myself grew up in the village, looked after the cattle. We had a field where we grew tomatoes and then sold them. All this is very close to me, so I want to do it - I don't know at what level yet. The foundation is already in place.
But I try to devote the most time to my family. I would like even more. Everything is possible.
Do you keep training and staying in shape?
I train every day and keep fit. I have been doing this all my life. I don’t want to quit training and I cannot. I don’t want to be overweight, I want to keep looking like an athlete.
About mom
- Mom happy I've retired.
- She watches all my fights, but never live, always on replay.
About siblings
- Khabib had older brother and younger sister.
- Sister is English teacher
- I have an older brother Magomed, he lives a private life.
- He trained as well, but he got two hard injuries to his knees and stopped training around 2009-2010.
- He did well, father had big hopes for him and then he switched to me.
About Umar and Usman
- Umar fighting 23 January in UFC
- Has fights postponed 3 times, because of pandemic, death of father and staph infection.
- He's a UFC caliber fighter and ready for big challenges.
- Khabib is coaching him and helping him prepare.
- We signed Usman a contract with Bellator. We chose another path for him.
- We want him to rise through Bellator. We have a 2 year deal with them.
- We chose Bellator instead of UFC because they offered a very good deal.
- We'll see how it goes. Usman is very talented.
- He's still young, only 22 years old. Want to develop him in another promotion for 2-3 years.
- We don't want to hurry him, there's still time, his age allows it.
About Conor being present on January 23, are you afraid of provocations?
- He has other stuff to worry about.
- Don't want to ruin UFC main event. Will not fall for provocations.
About post fight brawl between Ismailov and Mineev at a Fight Nights (a Russian promotion) event recently
- Khabib condemns it and thinks it's shows a bad example for young fans of the sport.
- People might consider hip a hypocrite because he himself was in a similar brawl with Conor, but that he has reconsidered his actions and thinks it was wrong.
- Thought a lot about what his father said after that brawl and it made him reconsider his actions.
PS.
People were asking for footage of the brawl:
https://matchtv.ru/boxing/matchtvne...hel_na_Match_TV_rasskazat_o_svoih_planah_LIVE
UPDATE:
About being nominated "Athlete of the year".
- Khabib has been voted "Russian athlete of the year" by Russian fans.
- Honoured to be considered the best by the people, not only journalists and experts.
About return to UFC
- Dana White and I are constantly in touch - we have not discussed the vacation of title yet. I think this is due to the fact that the UFC really wants me to continue my career. This is understandable - I spent 9 years in UFC, I had a lot of fights, became the champion, defended the title, never lost, I have a huge fan base from all over the world. Intentions of the UFC are clear to me, I do not blame them.
It's no secret that they are persuading me to return. They offer better conditions, choice of fighters - but it is hard to surprise me with fighters, they have no one good to offer me. Soon, in a couple of weeks, we will meet with Dana and discuss the conditions.
Is there a scenario where we'll see you in promotion again?
- I wouldn't want such scenario to exist.
Is there an athlete who would call you out and force you to make a come back?
- Only Mohammed Ali, but he's not with us anymore unfortunately.
About Gaethje fight
- It was a tough camp, lot of injuries. I had broken my toe. It was October 7th - two weeks before the fight. Before that, in mid-September, I got to the hospital - I was very sick, spent 10 days there, 5 of them in intensive care. I had a bad virus. By the end of September, I started training. The camp was very hard. And in the fight itself, I fought with a broken toe.
Did it bother you during fight?
- Yes, if you saw, at the end of the fight I got Gaethje in a triangle, and it was this toe that got stuck between the fence - I broke it again. In the octagon, I didn't feel it. If you watch the footage
About the most unexpected congratulations after the fight and from Conor
- The most important was the congratulations of Vladimir Vladimirovich (Putin). When athletes, organizations, clubs congratulate you, this is one thing, but when you are congratulated by the president of the largest country in the world, this is a different feeling.
But I didn't notice Conor's congratulations, I need to check.
About Top-3 in LW
- In our weightclass, there's always a competitive environment. In the UFC, all of the highlight fights are always inlightweight. The best fight of the year was Dustin Poirier's comeback against Dan Hooker. My comeback against Gaethje was a good fight as well.
At the moment, I would say Dustin, Conor and Islam Makhachev in the top 3. Makhachev still needs a top-5 fight, but skill wise he's up there.
Who do you think will take your belt?
- Winner of the Conor McGregor - Dustin Poirier pair. I think they will fight for the belt.
About the most difficult fight
- I didn't have easy fights. Maybe from the outside it seemed so, because I beat the up. But the hardest was in 2012 when I was 24. It was a fight against Gleison Tibau. Back then he was on a good winning streak, he was a top 15 best LW. This fight was difficult both emotionally and physically. I can also note Pat Healy, RDA and Conor.
And the most important one?
- October 6, 2018. Then we proved to the whole world that I, my team, our whole country - we can compete at the highest level. After that, my life changed, I received a lot of attention. Almost the whole world watched our fight. We even broke the record of the 2018 FIFA World Cup. About 15 years ago it was impossible to believe in it, that an MMA fight would be more watched than WC final.
For me, the result was in the first place. But on my part there was also a promotion - I was present there, drove weight, entered the cage, ended the fight, forcing him to knock on the floor.
Ahead of the fight, your opponent put in a lot of effort to promote that fight. Did you try to promote it, or did you just focus on result?
- For me, the result was in the first place. But on my part there was also a promotion, even though I was B side - I was present there, cut weight, entered the cage, ended the fight, forcing him to tap. So my presence is hard to deny.
But I mean maybe he was saying thing he didn't really mean
- You know I often answer these questions about him promoting the fight and I did nothing. I think those questions come from people that don't wish me success. I was there and I forced him to tap.
Yes, we all saw it. But now you have your own promotion, and you have to promote and not fight. EFC
- We are working very hard on our promotion. We bought it completely at the end of November, and already in December we held two great events in Moscow and Nizhny Novgorod. Next year there are also big plans - 5 events until April. We want another 5 events till the end of the year. There is a lot of work to be done.
How do you set priorities in life now - there is promotion, there is a agricultural business, there is a family?
- I myself grew up in the village, looked after the cattle. We had a field where we grew tomatoes and then sold them. All this is very close to me, so I want to do it - I don't know at what level yet. The foundation is already in place.
But I try to devote the most time to my family. I would like even more. Everything is possible.
Do you keep training and staying in shape?
I train every day and keep fit. I have been doing this all my life. I don’t want to quit training and I cannot. I don’t want to be overweight, I want to keep looking like an athlete.
About mom
- Mom happy I've retired.
- She watches all my fights, but never live, always on replay.
About siblings
- Khabib had older brother and younger sister.
- Sister is English teacher
- I have an older brother Magomed, he lives a private life.
- He trained as well, but he got two hard injuries to his knees and stopped training around 2009-2010.
- He did well, father had big hopes for him and then he switched to me.
About Umar and Usman
- Umar fighting 23 January in UFC
- Has fights postponed 3 times, because of pandemic, death of father and staph infection.
- He's a UFC caliber fighter and ready for big challenges.
- Khabib is coaching him and helping him prepare.
- We signed Usman a contract with Bellator. We chose another path for him.
- We want him to rise through Bellator. We have a 2 year deal with them.
- We chose Bellator instead of UFC because they offered a very good deal.
- We'll see how it goes. Usman is very talented.
- He's still young, only 22 years old. Want to develop him in another promotion for 2-3 years.
- We don't want to hurry him, there's still time, his age allows it.
About Conor being present on January 23, are you afraid of provocations?
- He has other stuff to worry about.
- Don't want to ruin UFC main event. Will not fall for provocations.
About post fight brawl between Ismailov and Mineev at a Fight Nights (a Russian promotion) event recently
- Khabib condemns it and thinks it's shows a bad example for young fans of the sport.
- People might consider hip a hypocrite because he himself was in a similar brawl with Conor, but that he has reconsidered his actions and thinks it was wrong.
- Thought a lot about what his father said after that brawl and it made him reconsider his actions.
PS.
People were asking for footage of the brawl:
Last edited:
