ABU DHABI – Shara Magomedov is a familiar name for Armen Petrosyan.
Petrosyan (9-3 MMA, 3-2 UFC) takes on Magomedov (14-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC) in Saturday’s UFC 308 main card opener at Etihad Arena (pay-per-view, ESPN+).
Petrosyan will look to capitalize on the hype that undefeated Magomedov brings and the coveted spot they’re on to open up the pay-per-view.
“Shara is very popular. He’s got a lot of hype behind him, and I think really for both of us, this is a great thing that there’s going to be so many people watching this specific fight,” Petrosyan told MMA Junkie and other reporters through an interpreter at Wednesday’s UFC 308 media day.
Petrosyan recalls competing in the same kickboxing tournament as Magomedov. They even shared the mats before, and the 33-year-old has nothing but respect for his opponent.
“We know each other. At one point we even trained together way back when,” Petrosyan said. “The tournament you’re talking about, we fought together on the same tournament. It’s not like we fought each other. Yeah, we know each other.
“I wouldn’t say we’re best of friends, but we’re really good acquaintances. We know all of his weak parts, we know all of his good sides, so you’ll see it. For every opponent, we make sure to study him really well, so I think you’ll see everything in the fight. … It’s going to be very fiery, very exciting.”
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