Khabib Nurmagomedov will immortalize his father in an annual tournament.
Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov passed away earlier this year at the age of 57 due to coronavirus-related causes. The UFC lightweight champion will now honor his father by holding an annual MMA card in Russia, with the first one taking place tomorrow.
“This tournament will be annual, we have already planned it,” Nurmagomedov told Match TV (via RT Sports). “Only the date will change. So every year at the end of summer or at the beginning of fall we will have this event every year. Other than that, there were no problems with the organization. The fighters wanted to fight, and promoters also were also interested in making the event. Most likely due to the fact that many events have been canceled because of coronavirus pandemic. So everything came about very well. I hope the tournament will be held at a high level.”
Fight Nights Global will host the annual event, with the first one being headlined by Vladimir Mineev and Dauren Ermekov. Nurmagomedov believes that Emeev will walk away victorious in the main event encounter.
“I can highlight two fights from this event,” Nurmagomedov said. ”The first one is with my brother Usman. And the second one is the main event. A fight between two champions of their organizations (Fight Nights Global and GFC) - Vladimir Mineev versus Dauren Ermekov. I think Mineev will be the winner, but you can’t underestimate Ermekov.”
FNG Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov Memory Tournament is set for Wednesday, September 9 from the Irina Viner-Usmanova Gymnastics Palace in Moscow, Russia with Vladmir Mineev and Dauren Ermekov headlining.
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