Abdul Rakhman Yakhyaev will look to preserve his unbeaten record and continue his rise in the light heavyweight division when he faces Brendson Ribeiro at UFC Vegas 115 on Saturday night.
Yakhyaev (8-0) respects Ribeiro’s willingness to actually fight with him.
“He’s good fighter. He fights till the very end,” Yakhyaev told reporters through a translator on Wednesday.
Yakhyaev was born in Chechnya, Russia, a war-torn region that has produced some of the toughest fighters in the sport. In fact, active Chechen fighters in the UFC hold a remarkable combined record of 46-1 in competition.
“Probably the reason is we were born in the region where there was a war. Born in the region and raised to weather the mountains. Our soul is pretty brave and hard,” he said.
The Chechen fighter spoke on his ability to finish fights, but didn’t make it sound very complicated.
“It’s natural and just the result of hard training,” he said.
With the upcoming bout between Khamzat Chimaev and Sean Strickland set for UFC 328 Yakhyaev spoke on his fellow Chechen and the title.
“So I think Khamzat’s going to win. Maybe (by) submission,” he said.
Watch the entire media day scrum with Abdul Rakhman Yakhyaev above. He faces Brendson Ribeiro at UFC Vegas 115 on Saturday night.
