{"id":16786,"date":"2026-07-25T13:00:23","date_gmt":"2026-07-25T08:00:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=16786"},"modified":"2026-07-25T13:00:23","modified_gmt":"2026-07-25T08:00:23","slug":"zaynukov-long-wait-for-ufc-debut-a-test-to-keep-from-being-arrogant","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=16786","title":{"rendered":"Zaynukov: Long wait for UFC debut \u2018a test to keep from being arrogant\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1upudxki _174s0un1 _174s0un0 _1mt21p01\">After months of waiting, it\u2019s finally \u201cJohn Pork\u201d fight week!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1upudxki _174s0un1 _174s0un0 _1mt21p01\">Everyone\u2019s favorite viral fighter Magomed Zaynukov is set to make his official promotional debut at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mmamania.com\/ufc-fight-cards\/447644\/latest-ufc-abu-dhabi-fight-card-paramount-start-time-date-location-ankalaev-vs-guskov\">UFC Abu Dhabi<\/a> where he faces fellow newcomer Damian Rzepecki on the main card of Saturday\u2019s Fight Night event. Zaynukov came into the UFC <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mmamania.com\/ufc-news\/454209\/john-pork-contender-series-dillon-danis-ufc-debut-july-25-abu-dhabi-mma\">via Dana White\u2019s Contender Series,<\/a> scoring an impressive decision win over Lucas Caldas.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1upudxki _174s0un1 _174s0un0 _1mt21p01\">That performance isn\u2019t why Zaynukov has become something of a sensation, though. All the extra attention comes via two unfortunate events: someone making a meme joking that his nickname is \u201cJohn Pork,\u201d and Zaynukov <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mmamania.com\/ufc-news\/404478\/magomed-john-pork-zaynukov-receives-heros-welcome-at-gym-after-decking-dillon-danis\">attacking Dillon Danis<\/a> in the crowd at UFC 322 in Madison Square Garden.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1upudxki _174s0un1 _174s0un0 _1mt21p01\">The \u201cJohn Pork\u201d thing has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mmamania.com\/ufc-news\/411257\/john-pork-manager-admits-nickname-is-actually-great-for-magomed-zaynukovs-career\">raised his profile,<\/a> but it\u2019s clearly an annoyance to Zaynukov, whose real nickname is \u201cChanko\u201d after his hometown in Dagestan.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1upudxki _174s0un1 _174s0un0 _1mt21p01\">\u201cIt started back in 2009 when I was beginning my Muay Thai career,\u201d he explained to Anatomy Of A Fight. \u201cAt the Dagestan Muay Thai Championships, my coach Ibrahim Khedirov started calling me \u2018Chanko.\u2019 I trained under him for nearly 12 years, and the name just stuck. From then on, everyone called me Chanko. Some people even thought it was my real name. Now when people hear \u2018Chanko\u2019 they know it\u2019s me.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1upudxki _174s0un1 _174s0un0 _1mt21p01\">As for the Dillon Danis brawl, New York City mayor Eric Adams <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mmamania.com\/ufc-news\/405806\/new-york-city-mayor-eric-adams-declares-ufc-322-brawlers-will-be-held-accountable\">declared<\/a> \u201cThe NYPD is already conducting a full investigation, and everyone responsible will be held accountable.\u201d No further statements were made, but questions have been raised about Zaynukov\u2019s ability to re-enter America.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1upudxki _174s0un1 _174s0un0 _1mt21p01\">\u201cAfter my last fight almost a year has passed,\u201d Zaynukov said. \u201cI\u2019ve been waiting for this fight for a very long time. Inshallah, it\u2019s time to make our return in Abu Dhabi. We are ready to conquer Abu Dhabi.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1upudxki _174s0un1 _174s0un0 _1mt21p01\">\u201cWe all understand that everything we\u2019ve been given is a test,\u201d he said later. \u201cMaybe it\u2019s a test to keep us from becoming arrogant. Our elders always remind us that no matter how popular you become or how big a star you are, you must stay humble. We follow the example set by Khabib, our elders, and Islam Makhachev. We try to remain as humble as fighters and carry ourselves with dignity and respect wherever we go.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1upudxki _174s0un1 _174s0un0 _1mt21p01\">\u201cAfter my Conteder Series fight, I was told not to chase the hype. The hype should come on its own, and you should remain humble.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1upudxki _174s0un1 _174s0un0 _1mt21p01\">The \u201cJohn Pork\u201d meme might get people to pay attention to Zaynukov, but it\u2019s \u201cChanko\u2019s\u201d impressive work in the cage that turns those casual observers into legit fans. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mmamania.com\/ufc-odds\/458656\/ufc-abu-dhabi-main-card-odds-breakdowns-and-predictions-x-factor\">We\u2019re expecting<\/a> him to show why the hype is real on Saturday in Abu Dhabi.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>After months of waiting, it\u2019s finally \u201cJohn Pork\u201d fight week! Everyone\u2019s favorite viral fighter Magomed Zaynukov is set to make his official promotional debut at UFC Abu Dhabi where he faces fellow newcomer Damian Rzepecki on the main card of Saturday\u2019s Fight Night event. Zaynukov came into the UFC via Dana White\u2019s Contender Series, scoring&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16787,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/platform.mmamania.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/110\/2025\/11\/gettyimages-2239853554.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C10.732984293194%2C100%2C78.534031413613&w=1200","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16786","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-real-trending-viral-news"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16786","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=16786"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16786\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/16787"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=16786"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=16786"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=16786"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}