GOING PRO | A FIGHTERS JOURNEY | MAGA ZURABOV · Ireland news

Summary

We took a trip to Partizánske, Slovakia recently to document Maga Zurabov's professional debut. Take a deep dive into the fighter's journey, and a behind the scenes look into how the weekend played out. A special thanks to Maga Zurabov and Samson Martial Arts for their…

AI summary AI-generated from the transcript

MMA In Depth interviews Maga Zurabov ahead of a lightweight main event during fight week. He describes the personal cost of pursuing MMA while working full-time as an amateur and raising a family, especially missing milestones in his son's childhood, and frames that sacrifice as motivation to achieve something meaningful now. He walks through a recent weight cut in detail: dropping from 77.1 kg to about 72.8 kg on Thursday night, a difficult Friday-morning water cut with his coach present, hitting 70.3 kg on the spot and weighing in at 69.9 kg, then rehydrating several kilos with help from his coach's wife Niamh. He explains why he values face-offs, reflects on pandemic-era fights without them, and describes fight-day preparation as the final episode of a season. Previewing an unnamed taller opponent, he calls him a wild striker with long reach and ground threats but predicts he is the better fighter everywhere, plans cage pressure and takedowns, and expects a finish within three rounds. He says camp conditioning is the best he has had, built through hard rounds against strong grapplers, strikers, and wrestlers, and that headlining carries pride, pressure, and a need to prove he earned the opportunity.

Transcript (youtube_captions)

foreign sacrifice is there whatever we do in life I think
so we have to sacrifice something you have you   can sacrifice um you know or you can invest you
can invest money into things you can earn them   back you can you can invest a bit of health and
sacrifice a bit of health and you you might you   know you might heal your body but you know the
biggest sacrifice is time and me as a family man   uh working full-time the entire career
as an amateur uh I had to sacrifice not   seeing my son for instance growing up um I
was coming from work drawing up throwing on   off of my of my staff from work grabbing my
training gear and running straight to the gym   not really seeing my my son growing up so each
time I was closing the door and I saw him there   I knew that you know I won't be able to turn
this I won't I won't be able to turn back time so   uh that's also as a sacrifice that's my big
motivation to really get something of it right now   um and that really drives me go forward
you know to to achieve something because I can't really imagine that I would need to stop
doing this right now after all what I went through   you see so um that's probably the only thing
that's the only thing which I can see that I   sacrificed um everything else was enjoyable you
know I don't I I don't regret money I don't regret   um a few injuries you know pain struggle that's
something I don't really regret but I slightly   regret you know that I couldn't or I wasn't there
you know when you know he was doing you know first   things you know sometimes you know kids they do
something for the first time so and I was not   there I just got a text message that he did or I
just saw a video you know and I was not there so   um I won't change that but I can now at least
prove to me and to my family and also to my son   if he's watching it right one day um that Daddy
was not at home because Daddy was manifesting   something you know it was creating something so
that's a big motivation for me I'd say we want   to be on 70 72 and a half is it 72 and a half
if we can do it tonight and I'm gonna have a   bit of probably you know a glass of water which is
like 0.2 or something so I'm gonna get up to 72.7 and you know by the morning I'm just gonna
be probably another half kilo will be down   like you know so coming here I'm gonna be maybe
72 and 2 72.2 so in the morning I'll have two   hours three hours for last two kilo like you
know should be good Thursday night was not as   hard or it was not as difficult I kind of I felt
like the the weight is it was going down pretty   easy and I was still sweating there was not too
much struggle on Thursday night um I think so   we went down from 77.1 to 70 uh 2.8 so we we did
about four and a half about four and a half kilo   um that was not too bad but obviously uh Thursday
night falling asleep hungry and thirsty was pretty   challenging I have to say um we had to wake up
early in the morning about half six and we started   the second hell second round of the of the weight
cut of the water cut on at seven and that was   something which was pretty challenging like you
know um going kind of deeper into it you know when   you start feeling your your kidneys and you know
your your your stomach and your liver is is just   um overheating and I'm not even talking about
the Hat spins and you know like you feel really   light-headed um that was a challenging moment
we actually got out from a sound after I think   so it was about half an hour I was expecting
a good number and we were still 1.2 kilo away   where I kind of fell a bit of uh mental
challenge more than kind of physical   and you know you get get it kind of it's not
really a panic attack or something you know   it's just like you you feel that uh you're already
down you're already um feeling that that your body   is going through hardship and there is still
a lot to do there is still a lot to to lose so   I had my coach with me you know which is a
really big support and uh you know it was there   kind of cheer me up and you know we did it and
on the end we were on the on the wait actually on   on the spot it was 70.3 kg we did it I think
so it was quarter to 10 we actually finished   the weight cut and uh when we actually
came on the venue weighed in in 69.9   so we were actually 0.4 under what we
needed to be so yeah it was difficult   but uh but we did we did it already before
so this was not my first lightweight cut   um but this the morning definitely the
morning Friday morning was probably the   so far the most challenging I experienced
but definitely worth it definitely worth it we were speaking with him also foreign foreign well that went pretty well again I had a support
from from kosher from uh from new me which is my   coaches Mrs you know she she gave us a recipe for
uh some secret juice you know not Paulo cost as   one but um yeah that kind of put me back and we
started drinking and you know I had a food later   on obviously and uh within within a couple of
hours I was up by four and a half five kilo and   feeling really good you know um we actually
had a bit of uh kind of light training uh   on the same day and it was you know I felt
really good like my body was was moving as   I wanted I was not feeling fatigue and um
you know in general I you know I felt good   um so that was that was a good part you know
when you start feeling that the life is coming   into your body and you just uh you just want
to go you know that's uh that's something which   which is really enjoyable you see the you know
suddenly once you start drinking and the salts   come in like you you start feeling power of your
body you start seeing colors you know everything   gets brighter and you you actually feel your brain
reacts quicker and and the thoughts are there   straight away you know and anger is gone like
obviously because each time I'm doing a weight   cut like I feel angry really angry I'm getting
annoyed by small things you know and this was uh   this was kind of slowly going away you know and I
started being myself so we did it we did it well   you know even today I feel like um we are ready we
are ready to go you know the strength is there and   yeah we're looking forward to to that time I enjoy
face-offs for a few different reasons why one is   obviously you want to see uh in front of you you
know who we are going to be fighting you want   to see how how tall he is you know how how he's
standing what his what is his body move Movement   Like body body language is you know it's showing
it's showing a lot about the fighter and uh   then I'm looking into the eyes you know
and I still don't like you know eyes they   usually tell the truth you know so you can
be pretending you can have a different face   but when you're looking into someone's eyes you
know what's there you know if the fire is there   you can feel it you know so that's what I'm
looking at like I'll tell you one thing like   I had uh I had two I had three fights actually
just right after pandemic there was no face-offs   and I really miss it you know I really missed
it it was was something I felt like we just met   on the on the Medicals you know and then around
in the you know like between the warming areas   and then in the fight and I just felt like that
that piece was missing you know that I actually   can look into my opponent's eyes night before
you know so we can feel each other and then   once we are in the cage like you know it's
just then then the the physical challenge so I think it's really important it's a part of the
game it's a part of the the actual fight you know   um just to read again to read how how am I open
and is reacting how he's looking at me you know   if he's if you can feel a bit of fear there
you know if he's really ready you can you can   feel that as well you know both drives me going
forward you know if you feel someone kind of be   kind of you know going backwards you see okay
he's he's hesitating or if we see someone you   know he's ready then you know okay I need to be
ready as well so it's really good to know you know   into which what kind of water we're gonna step
into so yeah I enjoy I enjoy face-offs foreign you're trying to get some nice food you
know which brings some energy and then   you go into the venue you know you you check
the cage you walk in you kind of you know you   test the battlefield before the battle um
obviously Medicals then the the wrapping   that it's it's all like it's it's like a chain
then you know it's just you don't even realize   how and suddenly you're there you know
in the zone and you're fighting so uh   the the hall the hall the whole preparation
I would call like it's like it's like a   it's like a series of of the what you call them
um when you have Seer when you have a cereal see   it's like a scene exactly episodes so you have you
have a lot of episodes in one season so this each   fight for me or the preparation with the fight on
the end it's like a season so this is the final   episode you know that fight day and usually you
know what happens in the final episode you know   all the best all the all the good things like you
know everything's gonna be revealed like you know   all the secrets and what we were waiting for you
know what happens in the on the final episode so   that's that's how I feel about the about the
five day it's exciting sometimes I'm like on the   roller coaster you know I get excited and I get
a bit nervous then I get excited again then I'm   thinking then I'm saying to myself I don't need
to think so much you know but again then once   once I'm closer and closer to the fight all those
emotions are gone and I'm just you know I feel   that I'm in the present moment and I'm I'm ready
to you know to go and and as Closer I Get as more   impatient I get and I want to be there you know
so it happened to me actually two fights ago like   I was like there was still two three fights before
me and I was like I want to go now like you know I   was like I can't wait anymore like because I can't
I could feel that fire inside so uh Friday is yeah   the most interesting day from the from the entire
fight Camp because that's that's that's the final   line he's mainly kind of he's he's wild Striker um
he likes to high kick um he uses straight punches   he really telegraphs which which his with with his
jab you know when you see that the jab coming when   it's coming um definitely Long Reach he's
much higher than me like taller I mean so   um I just need to I just need to watch that um
I don't think that wrestling wise he can match   me so that's something which will be focusing on
maybe you know pressure him against the cage and   take him down and he might be a bit dangerous
on the ground there as well because you know   with long long legs and long hands like the he
can wrap it over the Travel Guard he's using   a lot looking for for the triangle or iron bar
um so I just need to be careful down there but   overall I feel that I'm better fighter everywhere
I think so I can be standing with him and you know   I would I would beat him even and stand up
I think so I would beat him in grappling   so but uh want to return back home to my
family so I want to do it you know quick and   secure the win so we're just going
to push him against the cage that's   that's my prediction and we're gonna take him
down control him there and finish the fight 100 I don't see it go like we are ready we have a
I have the best conditioning so far I ever had so   we were we were doing fives we're doing five fives
we're doing five fives with fresh guys so you know   the shark tanks I had I had a good mixture of
um really really good competitors in Brazilian   Jiu Jitsu um I had a champion in Thai boxing in
Ireland you know kind of pushing the pace on me   in stand up I had some solid wrestlers there you
know young and strong and explosive guys you know   putting pressure on me where it comes to to a
wrestling so you know when from any corner from   any area if you look at it I'm again I'm ready
and I just don't think he's gonna be able to   handle pressure I'm gonna create so I think
my prediction is not more than three rounds foreign right now when I'm looking into it it's still it's
still like a dream of it you know because I know   that I worked hard for it and there is a lot of
work behind me but still it's in a main event   and you know it just it just happens so quickly
that I'm not even able to kind of accept it or uh yeah it feels good if it if
it comes to emotion it feels good   on one side another side huge responsibility
a bit of pressure as well you know I have a   lot of people there they'll come I I know them
they know me uh so I feel that I have to show   and I have to prove that you know I'm just not
random guy who just you know was picked from   the street or I'm just not the one which just
wish for things but they work hard for it so   just again to answer your question how it
feels it feels amazing and same it feels like I have to prove that I'm the one who
deserves that shot it's my family foreign next most followers machines foreign foreign please stop foreign foreign