After months of anticipation, Magomed “Chanko” Zaynukov (also known as “John Pork” in America) made his official UFC debut on Saturday night in Abu Dhabi. He showed off his full range of world class Muay Thai skills, battering Damian Rzepecki with kicks and elbows en route to a 30-27×3 decision.
Following the win, Zaynukov said there was no choice but to punish Rzepecki for suggesting it was a team vs. team fight.
“I had to live up to those expectations, because a lot was said by my opponent,” he said in the cage. “He said he was from Ilia Topuria’s team. But they don’t know that we’re from Khabib Nurmagomedov’s team, from Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov’s school. It doesn’t matter who I fight. I’m ready for anyone!”
“They just don’t know the type of life that we have in Makhachkala,” Zaynukov responded. “They haven’t seen life the way the way we live it over there. I think there’s no chance, they have no chance to come out of that room because what I saw and the things that I’ve seen, there’s no question.”
“There’s no playing games there or acting for the camera or something like that. Everything is very, very much different over there. It’s just that we don’t really like to bring the trash outside the house. We don’t say things like that.”
Zaynukov also relayed how his coaches Khabib Nurmagomedov and Islam Makhachev reacted to his dominant win in Abu Dhabi.
“Yeah, we spoke immediately after I got out of the cage,” he replied. “Khabib said that it was a great fight, an exciting fight, but ‘You missed a takedown and that’s not okay.’ Islam also just said congratulations, that it was a fun, exciting fight. But they kind of expected that this was going to be that type of fight, a fun, exciting fight.”
It certainly was that, and here’s hoping “Chanko” gets an opportunity to fight again soon. It may have to be abroad, because he’s certainly not welcome in New York any time soon.