Is Musa Khamanaev coming to the UFC?
The UGs man on the ground in Chechenya, Boris Dealon, interviews M-1 featherweight champion Musa Khamanaev, who says a UFC contract will soon be signed.
The UGs man on the ground in Chechenya, Boris Dealon, interviews M-1 featherweight champion Musa Khamanaev, who is currently on a seven-fight win streak.
The UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo has defeated all but one viable contenders but one – Conor McGregor. If he defeats “Notorious” all that is left is rematches. At the same time, the best Russian featherweight, M-1 champion Musa Khamanaev, hasn’t signed a contract with the UFC, although negotiations began in October. can’t sign a contract with UFC for a long time, even though talks about signing it started back in October.
In a conversation with Dealon, Khamanaev talked about his future, the contract with UFC, Conor McGregor, and more in this exclusive interview for The UG.
Boris Dealon: Fans in the US are wondering about you signing a contract with UFC, but we would like to start from your state of health. How do you feel now? Do you still feel sick? When will you be able to get back to training?
Musa Khamanaev: Thank you, I really appreciate that fact that American fans are interested to know about my career. I am 100% recovered and started training lightly.
BD: What is going on with your UFC contract now? (Manager) Mairbek Hasiev said that you and Beslan Isaev would probably sign it in February. But it’s the first week of March already, and we don’t hear anything about that. Do you know anything about that? At what stage are the negotiations now?
MK: I can’t say anything specific. Mairbek Hasiev deals with the contract and I 100% trust him. If he said that I would sign a contract with UFC then it will happen. In a few weeks I’m going to the US to start training and probably sign the contract.
BD: What camp are you going to train at when you come to the US?
MK: I will train at Blackzilians. It would be really useful for my career to train with the fighters like Rashad Evans, Anthony Johnson, Vitor Belfort but I will always represent and fight only for the colors of my fight club Berkut.
BD: In Russia you fought in the lightweight and in the featherweight division too. Which weight class are you planning to fight in after signing the contract with UFC?
MK: In UFC I will fight in the featherweight division. I had a test cutting weight with Erik Reynolds at ACB 10 and I had no problem with that.
BD: Your strong side is wrestling and grappling and there’s a lot of fighters in UFC in the featherweight that have very high level wrestling skills, like Frankie Edgar, Chad Mendes, Dennis Bermudez and others. Who of the fighters in that weight class do you like more and who would you like to fight in the UFC cage?
MK: It’s a very tough division that has a lot of good fighters. If I should pick someone then I’d say I like Frankie Edgar. He always shows his iron character and will. I think nobody can break him mentally, and his humble behavior makes me give him a huge respect.
BD: Just a couple years ago a lot of fans were doubting the level of Russian fighters and there was just one representative our your country – Khabib Nurmagomedov. However recently Russian fighters seriously grew up and your level is considered as very high. As an example we can take your victory over Daniel Weichel that just a short while ago won Grand-Prix Bellator and at the final he defeated Pat Curran that not a long time ago was the number two featherweight in the world after Jose Aldo. How would you like to start your career in UFC? You’d like to have a fight against a Top-15 opponent so you could break into the ratings or you’d like to start with easier opponents?
MK: Like I said before, I don’t pick my opponents but if I have an opportunity, I’d like to start from top fighters so that I could get to the title faster.
BD: As we’re talking about a champion title, it would not be smart to avoid the question about the fight between Jose Aldo and Conor McGregor. Basically the Irishman is the last contender in the division that Jose hasn’t fight already. Who do you think who is going to win in that rivalry? Will Jose Aldo be able to clean up the division or McGregor will prove his hype?
MK: I will be honest with you, McGregor hasn’t faced a really strong opponent of a champion level and I’d go with Aldo in this fight.
BD: A lot of people think that Conor McGregor got a title fight because his talks and hype. UFC now has this policy where fighters get a title fight and more high places in the ratings if they keep people’s attention and cause a hype with their sayings on the social media and interviews. What do you think about trash talking and this kind of things to get a better place in the ratings and get a title shot?
MK: I don’t even think about that, but I decided for myself that I won’t act out of line. Let everyone do what they do best but I’d like to remind that at the end of the day, only cage will show who you really are when it’s only you and your opponent in there.
DB: Musa, thank you for the interview. We’re hoping to hear from you more often and waiting on the news about you signing to UFC. And before leaving, would you like to say something to the top fighters of the featherweight division?
MK: (smiling) No, no, no. I’m not going to do no loud statements. I’m used to proving everything by deed, not by words.
About the author:
Boris Dealon is the founder of the popular Russian language Internet MMA portal MMAboxing.ru, a journalist, tournament organizer, and plans soon to extend his talents into fighter management.