UFC fighter plans to train with Khabib Nurmagomedov ahead of next fight
The Russian retired in 2020 without ever losing a fight in his UFC career
UFC fighter Belal Mohammad expressed his desire to travel all the way to Dagestan, Russia, to seek help with one of the greatest UFC fighters of all time, Khabib Nurmagomedov, ahead of a potential title fight against Leon Edwards.
Belal (23-3 MMA, 14-3 UFC), is close to Khabib as the two share the same manager and have trained several times together in the past, so it won’t be their first meeting should the two decide to work together in the near future.
“I’m planning for sure to go to Dagestan and train with those guys, like you said, to get a new look, to get different feels,” Belal recently told MMA Junkie Radio.
“Those guys don’t let you take any days off or any easy rounds. That’s always perfect for me. Last time I trained with those guys, we got a dominant finish and I plan to do the same thing.”
Belal stated that Nurmagomedov would never let him get off the right path and he takes all the advice of the Russian as the 35-year-old considers The Eagle as one of the greatest in history.
“A lot of their stuff that we do when we go live or we go hard is like we’re working,” Belal said. “Over here, I do a lot of specific drilling with my team, my guys here. When it’s over there, I’ve got to be ready to go. I’ve got to be ready to be in shape. It’s an uncomfortable feeling. A lot of these guys, they’re not who I’m with every single day.
"So every round is a lot harder. Every round feels like it’s a new fight. I think that’s an advantage for me because, with a lot of these fighters, you don’t get that uncomfortable feeling until you get to fight night where it’s like, ‘Alright, now it’s finally here. I’ve been thinking about this guy for a month.’ You’ve had looks, but you haven’t had the specific guy who’s in front of you right now."
There had been speculations about Belal taking on Edwards in the near future but nothing has been confirmed as of now. UFC’s boss, Dana White, said in May 2023 that the two would fight in the future but that didn’t proceed.
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