Rashid Magomedov excited about UFC’s debut event in Russia: ‘That is a great opportunity for Russians’

With the recent revelation that the UFC had seemingly negotiated a television broadcast deal in Russia to deliver UFC programming to over 50 million homes, several native fighters have been patiently awaiting the announcement of the UFC's first ever event in Russia.

Former M-1 welterweight champion and current UFC lightweight competitor Rashid Magomedov voiced his opinion recently and made it clear that he would be honoured to fight for the UFC on home soil.

"That would be great," Magomedov told MMAFighting.com through a translator. "If I could fight in Russia, it would be amazing."

Magomedov is 3-0 since joining the UFC roster, and holds wins over Tony Martin, Rodrigo Damm and Elias Silverio. He has only lost once in his professional career and is currently riding an 11-fight win streak. As one of the top competitors from the region currently signed to the UFC, Magomedov believes the rivalry between Russians and Americans is one of the driving forces that motivates fighters to move to the US and prove that they are amongst the elite in MMA.

"That is a great opportunity for Russians," he said. "I believe it's a good thing for us to fight here because of this rivalry between Americans and Russians in sports. It's a good thing for us."

While the UFC has refereed to Russia one of the "new global markets," they are yet to make a formal announcement regarding a potential debut event.

Transcription taken from MMAFighting.com.