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‘He’s the one giving directions’: Zubaira Tukhugov says Khabib will take father Abdulmanap’s cornerman function at UFC 253 (VIDEO)
Forward of his bout with Hakeem Dawodu at UFC 253 on Saturday, Russian featherweight Zubaira Tukhugov sat down with RT Sport to interrupt down his matchup, and focus on transferring on with out his mentor and coach, Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov.
Tukhugov shall be cornered by Khabib Nurmagomedov and Islam Makhachev on Saturday evening, however regardless of having his associates and teammates by his facet, he’ll combat with a heavy coronary heart after the premature loss of life of coach Abdulmanap attributable to issues associated to COVID-19.
Tukhugov referenced his grief briefly through the UFC 253 media day session, however mentioned he is higher served recounting his views in his native tongue.
“I couldn’t clarify all the pieces in there as a result of I used to be talking English,” he admitted.
“Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov was with us final 12 months, and when he is close to I felt very assured. If I battle with one thing he’ll assist me, he’d assist me prepare.
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‘We have to combat, we have to hold going’: Zubaira Tukhugov says reminiscence of Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov will encourage him at UFC 253
“Once I was getting nervous about my weight reduce he got here to me and inspired me. My coaching companions made numerous errors throughout my weight reduce. He made changes after which I used to be reducing weight correctly.
“I’m having issues now and I believe: ‘If Abdulmanap was right here, I’d give him all my belief and reduce weight simply.’ However, what are you able to do? That’s life. In the future you’re right here, the subsequent day you’re gone. He’s now not with us, sadly.”
Tukhugov revealed that, With Abdulmanap now gone, his son, UFC light-weight champion Khabib, has stepped as much as tackle extra of a management function inside their tight-knit group.
“Abdulmanap shared his expertise with everybody on the group, however he shared probably the most with Khabib as a result of he’s his son. Thus, Khabib has probably the most expertise out of everybody,” he mentioned.
“Attributable to the truth that all of us belief him, and he’s the one giving directions.”
