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Khabib Nurmagomedov doesn’t fight during Ramadan, reports ESPN

Khabib Nurmagomedov. Pic Twitter

The much awaited blockbuster UFC fight between light weight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Furguson for UFC249 seems to be hitting one roadbloack after another.

Previously fight was cancelled four times and then the fifth scheduled is now hit by global pandemic of Coronavirus. Khabib who is in his native place of Dagestan has said that he will not be able to reach USA as travel restrictions have been put in place by Russian Goverment due to COVID-19. He said he had went to UAE but then plans were changed by UFC and had to imediatley head back to Russia were he is stuck now.

Meanwhile their is now hope that Khabib may be able to travel to USA as a private airline has offered help and way for Khabib to reach USA.

Russia’s Federal Air Transport Agency has become the unlikely potential saviour of MMA’s biggest ever fight, by confirming Khabib Nurmagomedov could fly to the US on a private jet for this UFC 249 title defense with Tony Ferguson.

The Agency has provided a slither of hope to MMA fans when they announced Khabib, currently in his native Dagestan, could gain a permit to fly to the US via private jet despite all international flights to and from the country having been grounded last week to combat the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.

Meanwhile if the fight wouldn’t happen during the set date then it can’t happen for next four months as Khabib as per ESPN report doesn’t fight during Ramadhan.

ESPN reported that UFC lightweight champ Khabib Nurmagomedov is Muslim, and he won’t fight during the month of Ramadan, which this year falls from April 23 to May 23. In fact, Nurmagomedov said he needs at least 45 days after Ramadan in order to fully recover — because of the fasting — and then begin training.

Nurmagomedov is scheduled to defend his title against Tony Ferguson on April 18 in one of the most anticipated fights in UFC history. After UFC 249 had to be relocated from Brooklyn, New York, because of the coronavirus pandemic, White searched all corners of the globe to find a place to hold the event. White said on Monday that he has the venue, although he wouldn’t reveal it.

“I know my body, how it feels,” Nurmagomedov recently told ESPN. “That’s why I don’t fight during Ramadan and right after Ramadan. …

“We need minimum 45 days to recover. We compete at such a high level. That’s why we have to watch everything.”

Forty-five days after May 23 is July 7. If he were to begin preparing for a bout at that point, Nurmagomedov would start a training camp that lasts about eight weeks and would likely culminate in a return in September. Last year, Ramadan ended June 3 and the undefeated Nurmagomedov returned to the Octagon against Dustin at UFC 242 on Sept. 7.

Nurmagomedov’s quickest turnaround from Ramadan to the cage was in 2013. Ramadan ended on Aug. 7 that year and Nurmagomedov fought Sept. 21 — a span of exactly 45 days.

Nurmagomedov said he does some training during Ramadan, but more as a martial artist and not as a fighter going into a competition. During the month, he fasts from sunrise to sunset. That means no food and no water for about 15 hours per day. That makes it almost impossible for Nurmagomedov to train at the level he normally does.

“It’s very hard and very dangerous, too,” he said. “All day you don’t drink, don’t eat. Injuries can come. That’s why [you can’t have] too much contact. Even without sparring, it’s still hard.”

Which is why Nurmagomedov asked the UFC to book this fight before April 23.

“I tell them, ‘Please, make any time — but before Ramadan,'” Nurmagomedov said. “I asked them. And one week before Ramadan, they make this fight.”

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