Khabib Nurmagomedov says his superior fighting intelligence and conditioning will ensure he sees off Justin Gaethje in their title clash at this month’s UFC 254 in Abu Dhabi.
And the undefeated lightweight champion predicts it will not go past four rounds.
Nurmagomedov, who has not competed in more than a year, puts his belt on the line in the highly anticipated unification bout at Flash Forum on October 24, the highlight of the closing event at Fight Island.
The Russian fighter last entered the octagon at UFC 242 in September last year, when he defeated then-interim champion Dustin Poirier, also in Abu Dhabi. It took his professional record to 28-0 (12-0 in UFC).
On October 24, he takes on reigning interim title-holder Gaethje who, given his power and wrestling pedigree, could provide Nurmagomedov's greatest challenge to date.
But speaking on Thursday night during the official media day for UFC 254, the Russian said: “I don’t think it’s going to be a chess match.
"I think my fighting IQ is much better than Justin Gaethje. He’s just a tough guy. He likes fighting, he likes blood. He’s a real warrior.
“Of course Justin can fight, he can go deep and he has heart. But when we talk fighting IQ, mine is much better than he has.”
Asked to predict the outcome of the fight, Nurmagomedov replied: “Nothing's changed. I’m going to try wrestling with him.
"If he’s going defend the fence, defend my takedown one time, I’m going to try second, third, 100 times.
“And of course, I’m going to box with him, I’m going to kick with him. It’s going to be kickboxing and wrestling mixed.
"My goal is to make him tired. I’m going to make him tired. And maybe in round No 3 or round No 4 it’s my time is to finish him.
“We all know about his conditioning. If I’m going to attack him in the first two rounds, in the third round I think he’s going to finish. Because he doesn’t have good conditioning.”
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Khabib watches UAE Warriors 12 in Dubai
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Nurmagomedov, who recently turned 32, has been training in Dubai for the past couple of weeks and on Sunday attended UFC 253 in Abu Dhabi – the first of five events on the second Fight Island series.
He was scheduled to face Tony Ferguson in April but the bout fell through because of travel restrictions amid the pandemic.
Gaethje eventually took on Ferguson a month later and capped a dominant display in Florida with a fifth-round TKO. His record stands at 22-2.
Yet, while Nurmagomedov said he was impressed by Gaethje’s performance at UFC 249, he warned that he is a more substantial threat than Ferguson.
“It was a great performance from Justin Gaethje,” Nurmagomedov said. “He beat a very tough opponent. He showed he can fight five rounds. But anyway, he fought only standing up.
"They fought 25 minutes. They don’t wrestle, they don’t attack each other single-leg, double-leg. It was only a striking match, only a kickboxing match.
“But with me it’s going to be completely different. He has to worry about takedown, about boxing, about kicking, about grappling.
"He has to worry about MMA. This is not a striking game. He has to worry about condition, worry about my pressure. I’m going to give him so much and he has to be ready.
“For sure, Justin’s going to try to kill me. He’ll try to give me hard punch, hard kicks. He’s a very tough guy.
"When the cage closes we’re going to see what’s going to happen. He has plan, I have plan. And we will see.”
In July, Nurmagomedov's father and coach, Abdulmanap, died from heart complications having contracted Covid-19, prompting speculation that his son would walk away from fighting.
A rumoured “legacy fight" with former two-division champion Georges St-Pierre has been discussed if Nurmagomedov gets past Gaethje.
"We have a couple options and we’ll think about these after this fight," he said of the retirement talk.
"[UFC president Dana White] told me that after this fight he has something special for me.
"But I told him, ‘Please keep this and after the fight we’re going to talk’.”
Nurmagomedov would not comment on a rematch with Conor McGregor, who he defeated in a hugely lucrative and controversial bout in 2018.
“Right now I’m focused on Justin Gaethje, October 24," he said. "I don’t want to underestimate this guy.
"Justin's a very tough opponent, very tough guy, and he follows his dream. He’s very hungry.
“He just beat a very tough opponent. I don’t underestimate him. I’m focused on October 24.”
Nurmagomedov was asked about the challenges of competing for the first time without Abdulmanap by his side.
“I don’t understand when people ask me, ‘How difficult will it be for you to fight without [your] father?’" he said.
"Of course this is very difficult. What you think? You have your father? If something happens to him what do you think? It’s going to be difficult for you or easy?
"I’m human, too. Of course this is very difficult.”
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Khabib beats Poirier at UFC 242 in Abu Dhabi
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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China
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UAE
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Japan
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Canada
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Key changes
Commission caps
For life insurance products with a savings component, Peter Hodgins of Clyde & Co said different caps apply to the saving and protection elements:
• For the saving component, a cap of 4.5 per cent of the annualised premium per year (which may not exceed 90 per cent of the annualised premium over the policy term).
• On the protection component, there is a cap of 10 per cent of the annualised premium per year (which may not exceed 160 per cent of the annualised premium over the policy term).
• Indemnity commission, the amount of commission that can be advanced to a product salesperson, can be 50 per cent of the annualised premium for the first year or 50 per cent of the total commissions on the policy calculated.
• The remaining commission after deduction of the indemnity commission is paid equally over the premium payment term.
• For pure protection products, which only offer a life insurance component, the maximum commission will be 10 per cent of the annualised premium multiplied by the length of the policy in years.
Disclosure
Customers must now be provided with a full illustration of the product they are buying to ensure they understand the potential returns on savings products as well as the effects of any charges. There is also a “free-look” period of 30 days, where insurers must provide a full refund if the buyer wishes to cancel the policy.
“The illustration should provide for at least two scenarios to illustrate the performance of the product,” said Mr Hodgins. “All illustrations are required to be signed by the customer.”
Another illustration must outline surrender charges to ensure they understand the costs of exiting a fixed-term product early.
Illustrations must also be kept updatedand insurers must provide information on the top five investment funds available annually, including at least five years' performance data.
“This may be segregated based on the risk appetite of the customer (in which case, the top five funds for each segment must be provided),” said Mr Hodgins.
Product providers must also disclose the ratio of protection benefit to savings benefits. If a protection benefit ratio is less than 10 per cent "the product must carry a warning stating that it has limited or no protection benefit" Mr Hodgins added.
Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Starring: Rose, Jisoo, Jennie, Lisa
Directors: Min Geun, Oh Yoon-Dong
Rating: 3/5
DMZ facts
- The DMZ was created as a buffer after the 1950-53 Korean War.
- It runs 248 kilometers across the Korean Peninsula and is 4km wide.
- The zone is jointly overseen by the US-led United Nations Command and North Korea.
- It is littered with an estimated 2 million mines, tank traps, razor wire fences and guard posts.
- Donald Trump and Kim Jong-Un met at a building in Panmunjom, where an armistice was signed to stop the Korean War.
- Panmunjom is 52km north of the Korean capital Seoul and 147km south of Pyongyang, North Korea’s capital.
- Former US president Bill Clinton visited Panmunjom in 1993, while Ronald Reagan visited the DMZ in 1983, George W. Bush in 2002 and Barack Obama visited a nearby military camp in 2012.
- Mr Trump planned to visit in November 2017, but heavy fog that prevented his helicopter from landing.
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
