All that matters for Shara Magomedov is he’s fighting Saturday. Everything else is irrelevant.
The UFC middleweight lost his opponent for UFC on ABC 6 on two different occasions and had to land on a third name just days before his return to the octagon. This may be stressing and problematic for many fighters, as it can vastly change a gameplay and or the preparation, but for Magomedov (12-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC), it’s business as usual.
“It’s nothing strange, nothing new for me,” Magomedov told reporters at the UFC on ABC 6 media day. “Back when I was an amateur, I would fight a new opponent every day, and they were switching so quickly that I didn’t even have a chance to learn anything about my next opponent, so I would just fight. Nothing changes for me. I come out to do my work and win.”
Magomedov takes on Brazil’s Antonio Trocoli on the main card at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Trocoli has a 9-inch reach advantage on Magomedov. “Bullet” is aware of this big change, and even then, he’s unfazed.
“I know this,” Magomedov said. “He’s a very tall guy. He’s taller than Alex Pereira, and he’s larger than him. So I don’t know – we’ll figure out a way to deal with it in the fight.
“I really don’t think that anything changes for me. I’m going to come out there and try to do an A+ job. I don’t think he’s going to get away from my punches, kicks or elbows. He’s going to become a wrestler like all of my opponents, and I’m going to do whatever I need to do to win.”
Trocoli was supposed to fight Ikram Aliskerov this past Saturday at UFC on ESPN 58 in Las Vegas, but Aliskerov was pulled on the day of the weigh-ins to fight in the UFC Saudi Arabia main event when Khamzat Chimaev pulled out against Robert Whittaker.
That left Trocoli without an opponent last week, but available to answer the call on short notice this week, halfway around the world.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ABC 6.
