McGregor’s return, Pimblett’s title push and Saidov’s UFC debut

Hello everyone, friends! You are watching the weekly discussion on the mma-tv.com portal. Joining me today is expert commentator and sports journalist Roman Sofronov. A very warm welcome to you, Roman!

Hey there!

Today we'll discuss Conor's epic return, on July 12th at UFC 329. After a long five-year break, Conor McGregor is making his way back into the octagon. His tough opponent was Max Holloway. Right after his first jump, Conor landed very awkwardly and injured his leg. The fight ended at one minute and nine seconds of the first round. So, why don't you tell us everything you think about this, Roman?

Well, naturally, I'm disappointed, just like all the fans. Furthermore, in addition to that, after the preliminary fights were over, I remained behind at the Ostankino studio specifically to watch his fight very closely. But looking back, I would have been much better off just heading home to get some sleep. That was the first thought that crossed my mind. The second thought. It became quite obvious to everyone that he was injured. And after doing some extensive digging around on social media, a video is already starting to gain a significant amount of traction online showing him arriving for his appointment at the UFC medical center roughly two weeks ago from today. And where he is limping a little on his leg. Honestly, you can't really see it there. I don't know why they decided he was limping. But at the very least, I am absolutely certain that the situation is exactly as follows. The situation is that he most likely sustained some form of injury. He threw himself into training very intensely. He pulled something in his leg somewhere along the way. He did something, pulled or strained those ligaments, or maybe even tore them. I don't know exactly what happened. And then, realizing that he couldn't drop out of this event and couldn't let down the UFC management... He found himself facing a tough choice. He had to put on some kind of act. So, right at the very beginning, he throws a high kick, appears to land his foot on it in a way that isn't quite ideal, and so on. Although in reality, that leg was already injured, and things were already not right at that point. That's all there is to it. That's why there's so much disappointment.

Well, this theory... It's still unclear whether this is a real theory or a conspiracy theory—that he came to the tournament already injured. But do you even think that he supposedly threw that high kick on purpose to end the fight early, so he wouldn't have to fight with an injury?

Well, he just tried to do it. You can see that he was warming up and practicing that kick. during the warm-up. I think so, yes. I am completely convinced and certain that he was injured right from the very beginning. That is something I can say I am absolutely certain about with total confidence. And as for the question of whether it was done on purpose or not, I think there might be some real truth to that idea.

Well, honestly, I'm not a fan of Conor. To be perfectly honest, I don't even like the guy. But of course, that moment was something you had to see for yourself. I actually got up and watched it live, and it seemed to me—I don't quite know why—that from the very beginning, his facial expression was kind of absent, like he wasn't really focused or something. I don't know, was I the only one who felt that way when he was coming out?

Conor is the kind of person who, if he feels confident, he projects that overwhelming sense of confidence onto everyone around him. He extrapolates that intense feeling onto every single thing possible. And he carries himself with a mindset that clearly says, 'I'm here to eat you alive.' But here, as Khabib said—stay humble, you must be humble—he was remarkably modest and very careful with his movements. And in fact, here he really was that very humble person. And at the press conference, he didn't really put on a show, didn't shout, didn't provoke, and so on. This, in my opinion, is objectively true for the simple reason that he wasn't completely confident in himself because of the injury. That's all there is to it.

By the way, you just mentioned Khabib. He last competed all the way back in 2020, and Conor last won in 2020 as well. And here is the thing. Why is it that so many of these people can't just leave when they retire? I mean, they have already completely finished their professional careers. Why not remain a legend? Khabib is holding strong in this regard. It seems to me that he's being called, invited, and also offered a lot of money. But he holds on, I think, in order to leave a legacy. But as for Conor, why not just walk away?

Absolutely everyone deals with it quite differently. It's like killing the footballer inside yourself, as I always say. There are those who try to end their career but find themselves unable to do so, or those who become coaches and still cannot extinguish the spirit of that footballer inside them. Killing the fighter inside yourself is also quite a big and complicated story. Not everyone manages to do it. And as it turns out, it's not even really about the money. Although, of course, around thirty five or thirty seven million dollars wouldn't hurt Conor. From thirty seven to seventy. If he wins, I think it would be 70. It wouldn't hurt, but overall, I don't think even that solves it. Here, it's really a matter of your deepest inner feelings, that burning desire to fight again and to feel yourself standing in the center of the spotlight once more. And it's about getting those very hormonal surges and that rush of adrenaline when you step out, receiving all that support from the stands and so on. That is exactly why it is so difficult, it is truly hard to let go. I think Conor will have one final attempt overall. He just needs to fully recover his health and strength. And I think after the next fight, it's probably time to finally hang up the gloves for good.

But for now, I’m giving this fight the title of the biggest disappointment of the year. What about you, do you agree?

Yes, yes, absolutely, I completely agree. But there’s that well-known and frequent joke, that he woke everyone up, but then went to bed himself. Last time he went to sleep, and now he just went down for a rest as well.

Now for the co-main event. In this particular matchup, of course, these two guys pleased me much more than I had expected. At the same event, at the 52nd second after the start of the fight, Paddy Pimblett choked out Benoit Saint-Denis. Even though he was the underdog in this fight. But as practice shows, when he lost to Justin Gaethje, people were saying that the guy supposedly lacked character, but when Topuria lost to Gaethje in an even more devastating fashion, everyone realized that Pimblett actually does have it. And the fight was really awesome. I enjoyed all fifty two seconds of it. How about you?

Let me give you my perspective on this: I actually see it a bit differently than most. I knew perfectly well that Benoit Saint-Denis would immediately go for the grappling; as a matter of fact, I was absolutely certain of it, and so was Paddy Pimblett. So, when you are fully aware that someone is going to try to grapple with you and is very quick to give up their neck—and there was some serious, deliberate analytical work done there—, He immediately secured a very tight guillotine really well, then transitioned over to a D'Arce choke—usually that works for him, but he didn't roll onto his side, he just stayed in that position, so basically it ended up working like a guillotine. That's it. And that's all. And all that pressure from Benoit Saint-Denis, and all that incredible aggression he brought to the fight... It often happens—he just turned it into a chokehold, and that was it. Paddy actually performed quite well, regardless of how much I dislike him or how skeptical I remain about his skills, especially after he fought Gaethje. His boxing technique is pretty funny, and it really makes you smile. But still, he did a great job—he took full advantage of his opportunity.

But Paddy keeps saying that he wants a title shot, and honestly, he was very close to getting it. What do you think happens next, any thoughts?

He’s the top-ranked contender after that recent Arman-Gaethje fight. Of course, you have to look at the rankings, but that thought just wouldn’t leave my mind right after the win, to be honest. So, honestly, not giving Arman a well-deserved title shot would be very strange. He’s fully expected to beat Gaethje in their upcoming match, ideally. And Paddy is just the kind of guy who wants to jump into big opportunities immediately. Because of that, it is quite possible that he won’t even agree to be the backup fighter, probably. Although it is quite possible that he will. That is also a likely outcome to consider.

Do you really think that after Arman has been inactive for quite a long time, he’ll get an immediate title shot?

That is exactly right. Because he simply never seems to lose. And furthermore, He really is the number one contender, both by ranking and by every metric. I just don’t know who could be more objective.

Well, I just hope he at least gets out there and fights.

He’ll definitely get out there and fight. The thing is, it’s the UFC itself, the organization, that’s causing his inactivity. And it’s not his fault. He fights and stays active all the time. He’s outwrestled every single opponent, grappled, flipped, hugged, lifted, slammed them down, choked them out, and everything else. So he’s truly done everything he possibly could on his end. Let’s put it that way. Whether he gets a fight or not, that’s up to time.

Alright then, let’s move right along. Nikita Krylov didn’t really please us this time. At the beginning of the third round, he lost by technical knockout to Robert Whittaker. And apparently, he suffered a broken jaw. But things haven’t been going too well for Nikita lately, although he did win his previous fight by split decision, but before that, he lost two in a row. And overall, after every one of his fights, the question comes up: Nikita, is that it, are you getting cut? What is your opinion on this matter?

No, that's not all. I'm sure he still deserves, I think, one or two more chances. He's been in the league for a long time now, and he holds the position of a gatekeeper. This means he is someone who tests the newcomers and checks those who are moving forward, although unfortunately, he doesn't always perform in the best way. Here is my reasoning. Regarding the fight, I would like to say that, unfortunately, Nikita was unable to adapt to the situation. There are many factors. We're just looking... In the end, he adapted in the following way. He took a lot of hits, especially to the hands. And somewhere, trying to add movement, trying something else, it still didn't work out for him. And again, it was from the hands that he took a lot of hits, including the very blow that caused his jaw to break. Unfortunately, even when he tried to kick, he still took shots to the head. So here, perhaps, it's necessary to rethink things a bit strategically. Maybe he needs to approach this situation correctly with some... maybe find some kind of experienced mentor somewhere, because with all due respect to the guys who were in his corner— and I truly hope no one takes offense— we just didn't quite understand exactly who those people were or what they offered. That is, we don't know these people by face. And again, this doesn't mean they lack qualifications or anything like that, it's just... There are specialists who have proven themselves in a certain way. And it's by no means a given that just because these people were in his corner, they were the ones who trained him. That also happens on a fairly regular basis. To put it more simply, it's a complicated issue, but I want Nikita to be stylistically and exceptionally well-prepared and fully able to adapt. A lot of the problems, in my opinion, came from the fact that he couldn't adapt.

I honestly get the feeling that Nikita doesn't have championship ambitions, and it seems like he's perfectly content with the position he holds, even if that's just being a gatekeeper for the division.

Well, as they say, every soldier dreams of becoming a general—I always say that—but in this specific case, that's a long way off. A very, very long way off indeed. Here, the real question is, well, you simply need to solve these problems as they come up. That is, the first thing is to stay in the UFC, meaning the next fight absolutely has to be won, and it's also important to find out how many fights are left on the contract overall. That's the first thing. Prepare properly and, if possible, tailor the preparation specifically for each opponent. And then, accordingly, after going from win to win, you can start thinking about any title ambitions. You can't just lie on the couch and say, damn, Of course, I'd love to win the belt, but out of four fights you only have one win. Well, that would be strange, and he understands that perfectly well. He is such an incredibly experienced fighter that, I think—no, I'm sure—he could tell many people exactly what needs to be done and exactly how to do it. It is just obvious to everyone that things simply aren't right. It's like he... isn't fully focused, and he just isn't whole as an athlete right now. Even though he's a great all-rounder. Unfortunately, there can be a lot of reasons for this, especially personal ones that we might never know about. Because, for example, when you are talking to some of these professional ACA fighters, you might see him have a really boring fight. I often ask him, why did you have such a boring fight this time? And then he says to me, well, I was actually dealing with some serious personal problems. And then he lists them all out for me. It is a situation that, unfortunately, I cannot even discuss openly out loud, not even while carefully avoiding mentioning his name at all. I ask, why were you messing around by the cage for so long, just standing there and doing nothing? As it turns out, there were some very significant and serious complications of that kind. So it is hard to say for certain, who really knows. But in any case, I would truly like to see him adapt to the situation, prepare himself thoroughly, keep a positive moral attitude, and have genuine confidence in himself. That is all.

Let's move on to the next news item. On the same day, July twelfth, the Open FC tournament took place in Moscow. And former UFC heavyweight Alexey Oleynik, in the main event of the evening, choked out Serbian fighter Antonio Zovak in the second minute of the first round and ended his career in mixed martial arts. Oleynik is 49 years old. Over his professional career, he achieved a total of 62 victories, suffered 18 defeats, and had 1 draw. Well, the fight was interesting, although it seemed to me—maybe it just seemed that way—because of the half-empty stands. It really seemed to go by quite quickly. Oleynik, of course, did a great job, did everything well, and left a pleasant impression. What do you think, Roman?

Yes, absolutely, I think this was a truly wonderful and memorable farewell tour for a legend. In my opinion, I won't focus on the actual skill level of the opponent he faced or anything else of that nature. You can easily lose your last fight, after all. But overall, he earned the deep respect of everyone watching, he truly deserved every bit of the attention he received, and he even finished the match with his legendary signature choke, once again expertly slipping his powerful arm right under the opponent's chin to secure the victory. The Adam's apple, yes, and so on. Well, we know the Ezekiel choke here a bit differently. He did it while already lying down. So, it's just awesome. It is truly great that he was under the bright spotlight as a professional athlete. Well, we'll see. He actually analyzes things really well. Maybe we'll see him as an analyst. That would be great.

Yeah, why not, really. At that very same tournament, MMA Series fighter Sabrina Van Damme faced off against Liliya Platova. Even though Sabrina is a highly skilled taekwondo athlete and kicks absolutely divinely, this time around she completely surprised everyone with her performance. With those same legs, at the beginning of the first round, she choked out her opponent. She suddenly broke down in tears. Sabrina has a deep desire to get into the UFC, and I truly wish for her to achieve that as well. And there's another pleasant piece of news to share about one of our former fighters. Magomed "Kubik" Saidov, who is a truly spectacular knockout artist, competed in a total of six memorable matches within our league. Out of those, four were early finishes by knockout. Maga earned our bronze champion belt, and now he has signed with the UFC. And already on July twenty fifth, according to preliminary information, he will face American Dustin Jacoby. He has 22 wins, 9 losses, and 1 draw. Jacoby also likes to finish fights by knockout, so the bout should be exciting—unless, of course, the 2 strikers decide to wrestle. Roman, what can you say about Jacoby? What kind of threat does he pose to us?

Well, he certainly has the physical weight to match those powerful and heavy punches, even though the division is officially called light heavyweight. The guys competing here are incredibly tough, they hit really hard, and Jacoby is the kind of formidable fighter who can both get knocked down and land a massive shot himself, especially when you consider he is a pretty big guy, though he can be a bit slow. In this regard, I would venture to say that our highly dedicated and talented athlete has a significantly greater opportunity to make a truly strong and impressive debut on the international stage. This current opponent is certainly not an invincible or unstoppable force to be reckoned with and is actually perfectly suitable for a professional debut at this level. So I really hope this debut will finally happen as planned. By the way, I am planning to attend this upcoming tournament in person. And yes, I actually went ahead and bought my ticket yesterday. And I am going to be there to see it all. It's actually going to take place in Abu Dhabi. So I'll be happy to watch and maybe, if possible, even have a chat.

Tell me, are you going as a spectator? Just to enjoy the atmosphere, to watch, or will you actually be working there as well?

No, to be honest, I'm going primarily as a spectator for the simple reason that a commentator for the UFC should experience and attend a UFC event at least once in their career. Because at the Moscow events back then—there were two, right? The Moscow and St. Petersburg ones, and I think another Moscow one, though I might be mistaken. I recall that during that entire period, I was either busy with work or simply absent. At some point, I also took on the role of the backup commentator, ready to step in for my colleagues whenever it was necessary. And unfortunately, I didn't make it. But I really want to go, and I might even apply for accreditation. Well then, we will find out now.

Yes, please do get accredited. I think Ankalaev will be fighting there as well.

Yes, indeed.

And among our guys, I think it's just Walter Walker, that's all. Of course, of course.

And not only that. There are also quite a few athletes from Russia who attract a lot of interest. And in general, Russian speakers—let's put it that way. Islam Dulatov, he's of Chechen origin, but as far as I remember, he also speaks Russian. Something to think about. No, no, it's just that he lived in Europe for a long time, that's what I meant.

Ah, those are the guys who are in Germany right now.

That is absolutely and completely right. He is the one with that strikingly beautiful and magnificent appearance, who used to be a professional fashion model. But you see, it is important to realize that even men with those model looks can rough you up, so you never know, because truly anything can happen.

By the way, he's a very interesting fighter. I haven't seen his brothers, but he is absolutely amazing, of course.

He's powerful, powerful, powerful. He's doing very well, and I really want to see another knockout from him.

Roman, I really hope you get to talk to the guys, attend that fight, and you have inspired me right now. Why not actually make the trip out there at least once? Alright. Thank you very much for our wonderful morning discussion.

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