Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC
Check out the first episode of the inside look at Khabib Nurmagomedov’s training camp for UFC 254.
UFC 254 will be one of the biggest MMA events of the year, and will feature one of the best lightweight fights possible on top. Reigning and defending champion Khabib Nurmagomedov will try to win an incredible 29th fight in a row to stay undefeated when he meets maybe his toughest challenge to date – interim champ Justin Gaethje.
Leading up to the bout, Khabib’s team has decided to release some videos detailing what’s going on in his training camp in Dubai leading up the the October 25th fight. Here’s a look at the first episode, which you can view above.
The episode starts off with Khabib telling the cameraman that he can never enter his room without knocking first. The cameraman says the door was open, but Khabib persists. I can’t tell if this is subtle humor or if I’m missing something. He explains what will be going on in training that day (which includes three sauna trips), and then tells the cameraman to get lost.
His room/suite/mansion might be the highlight of this whole video. It’s beautiful. But right after they showed it, Khabib YOLO’d in Russian. Guess we have to take the good with the bad.
AKA coach Javier Mendez is getting a workout in. He says he needs to stay in shape to keep up with his guys, then shows off his biceps. They talk to a few more of his training partners, who discuss not getting enough sleep or crack a few jokes at each other’s expense.
This actually comes off rather endearing and pretty funny, but they need to take a page out of the Embedded book and actually identify everyone who is talking. I cover this stuff for a living and even I didn’t know who everyone was. The casual fan will be baffled. Put their names on the screen when they talk, Khabib’s team!
They finally sort of get back to Khabib’s training. Following a grappling session, the cameraman asks Khabib how many times he tapped his partner. He says that the guy already fights in Bellator, so it wouldn’t be nice to say. Of course, the partner says zero and they all laugh as Khabib jumps on him.
That’s it for part one. The only description of the YouTube video says “Comment below what do you want to see in the next videos ?” Here’s what I want to see.
Identify everyone talking on screen. More Khabib, less teammates (though i understand that this is a platform to elevate teammates, which I understand). Indicate when the footage is from (like day/time). But overall, a very good start. I enjoyed it.