Chicago, IL — With a finish of Laureano Staropoli in the opening round at PFL 3 on Friday, welterweight Murad Ramazanov sent a message.
He sent that message in front of Staropoli’s two well-known coaches, Glover Teixeira and Alex Pereira. Pereira in particular is known as an imposing figure, but Ramazanov (12-0, 1NC), making his promotional debut off a stint in ONE Championship, was glad to have them present.
“I come from Dagestan, that’s part of Russia where you cannot be really threatened by this, by your entourage. We all have good company always around,” he explained, speaking with Cageside Press and other media outlets at the Wintrust Arena in Chicago following the bout. “So for me, it’s great to see them.”
“I know they have this thing sometimes where they put pressure on you by just staring at you. Alex, Glover, I love them both, they’re great guys. For us, it’s not a threat. For me, it was quite an inspiration.”
The presence of the current and former UFC light heavyweight champions had Ramazanov thinking “alright guys, we’re here, I’ll show you what I can do.”
“So again, it’s not a threat for us in Dagestan, but I’m very glad that they were there to see it.”
Murad Ramazanov is one of many fighters who train alongside UFC Hall of Famer Khabib Nurmagomedov, and he credits the success of that team to discipline, instilled by one man in particular.
“I think when it comes to our school, it’s all thanks to the late Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov. He was the one who put discipline behind everything, everybody in the gym. It’s all about strict discipline and sticking to your training process. We have respect, brothers respect everybody who trains, and then obviously we work really hard.”
Ramazanov noted that other gyms in the U.S. and other countries still have athletes that train very hard, and aren’t any worse, “but with us it’s more about discipline. That’s very important. Otherwise, I’m very happy to train with other gyms, and other people come to our gym. It’s all about brotherly love and respect and training together and improving.”
“Now Khabib Nurmagomedov, he’s following the path of his father, he’s giving out that discipline. We owe to him and his father the effort they put with us. It’s all about following certain strict discipline programs, and keep winning. That’s how champions are being made.”
Watch the full PFL 3 post-fight press conference with Murad Ramazanov above.
