Khabib
Nurmagomedov retired from mixed martial arts with a 29-0 mark
as the UFC lightweight champion, but at least one training partner
believes “The Eagle” could reach similar heights in the competitive
grappling world.
Two-time Abu Dhabi Combat Club Submission Fighting World
Championship gold medalist Yuri
Simoes, who trains with Nurmagomedov at American Kickboxing
Academy, told
Ag.Fight that the Dagestani’s skill set would translate well to
the ADCC arena.
“I’ve already trained with many top jiu-jitsu players who like
to be on top, pressuring to pass the guard, but his game is
different. It´s too much pressure,” said Simoes, who fell to
Fan
Rong via unanimous decision in his MMA debut under the One
Championship banner last October. “Unlike the jiu-jitsu guys, his
goal is not to pass the guard or mount to get points. He tries the
transitions to punish and cause pain to the opponent.”
Simoes said it’s up to Nurmagomedov to decide how far he wants to
go in the grappling world. The talent is already there.
“He just needs to train several months to understand and adapt his
game to ADCC rules, but if he decides to do that, I have no doubt
he has the game to be a champion and it would be a pleasure to
support him in that transition,” Simoes said.