Las Vegas, NV – UFC lightweight Nurullo Aliev earned his first victory in the promotion when he earned a majority decision over Rafael Alves at UFC Vegas 70 on Saturday night.
“I feel really great about (the win). I worked really hard to prepare for this. In the morning, at night, sometimes four times a day. Now you see the result,” Aliev told Cageside Press among other media through a translator at his post-fight scrum.
“My country is about 25 hours away by travel so takes about 25 hours to get here. You have to switch a couple planes. There’s a 16 hour time difference. I’m young, I’m hungry, I want to make my country famous. I’m only 22.”
Traveling from Tajikistan to Las Vegas to work is something not many 22-year-olds in his country are doing.
“Usually people that are my age in my country they’re partying every day, and I’m away from my home. I’m training. I only see my family for about two months out of the year. Other than that I’m here and this is what I do,” he said.
During the fight a time-out was called due to Alves claiming Aliev bit one of his fingers when they were grappling. No clear video evidence of a bite was found, but the ref did see bite marks on Alves’s finger so a point was taken from Aliev.
“There was no bite. I was controlling him with my head and he was trying to get me off by putting his hand in my mouth. So I was trying to spit his hand out and as I was spitting it out his finger caught one of my teeth. Maybe he was tired so he decided he that way to kind of call that there was a bite,” Aliev said.
“There wasn’t a bite. He was just tired because a young ‘Eagle’ was pressuring him. He felt the pressure of a young ‘Eagle’.”
Now that the fight is done Aliev is ready to go home, rest up, and come back for his next fight.
“I’d like to go home. I don’t really have a name. I’d like to go home and rest. I’ll be ready for whoever UFC gives me, ” Aliev said.
“I want to celebrate Ramadan and afterwards I’ll be ready for anybody.”
Watch the entire post-fight scrum with Nurullo Aliev above.
