He is 22 years old and has only two fights as a professional in MMA, but Yaman Mjahed Nogales ‘El Diamante’ (2-0) He carries himself as if he were a UFC veteran. The Basque fighter, who has just won in WOW 15 con his second finish in two PRO fights, visited Radio MARCA’s El Último Asalto to talk about his present… and his future.
“They are days of rest, taking advantage of them. Recovering energy,” he declares at the beginning. He finished Diego Larrea (2-2) in the third round to rise to a packed Vistalegre Palace. 8,000 people on a record night for Spanish MMA. “In WOW 15 I didn’t give even 60% of my ability to fight. I can give much more on a technical, cunning, physical level… And that will make me come back even better,” he warns. Aim for WOW 17… on November 30, again in Madrid.
In WOW 15 I didn’t even give 60% of my ability to fight. I can give much more
Yaman ‘El Diamante’ visits MARCA.
A path… of destiny
But there is much more to Yaman than fighting. He is 22 years old but in front of the microphone and through a radio without an image, the listener feels a seasoned fighter. Key to this was his environment. His uncle, especially. “I have always been taught to train the mind, not just the body. You have to cultivate the mind and the base within yourself so that everything is reflected on the outside,” confirms Yaman.
You have to cultivate the mind and the base within yourself so that everything is reflected on the outside.
“I remember my first class when I was 14 years old and I said ‘wow, what is this I’ve done’. I looked it up on YouTube, when I returned home, and McGregor came up. And I thought, ‘Wow, this is what I’m going to do for the rest of my life.’ I believe a lot in destiny, that we all have a path, it is inevitable… and I remember that. I looked at the best fighters… but also the best athletes, businessmen. Adapt to their habits to form me as a person and fighter. It’s not enough to just be good inside the cage. “You have to be natural… but also know how to sell yourself well,” he analyzes. ‘El Diamante’, as we explained, goes further.
It’s not enough to just be good inside the cage. You have to be natural… but also know how to sell yourself well
The Basque fighter has several phrases that he burns in his daily life. “I am inevitable,” first; “pressure makes diamonds”, later. He endorses it with his work…and sacrifice. He overcame a serious knee injury and met Ilia Topuria, one of his references. He did it on WOW 15, a few days ago. First, at the press conference; later, in Vistalegre. WOW, the largest MMA promoter in Spain today, opted for him and placed him on the front page… to the left of the ‘Matador’ at the press conference. Destined to meet. To be on the same plane. “Obviously I will know him, the best get together with the best, so it is inevitable,” he had declared to MARCA in May. She complied.
Yaman ‘El Diamante’, on his visit to MARCA.
There will be moments of everything… but I know that I have what it takes
Yaman, who took up karate at the age of six but gave it up because he lacked “the feeling of combat,” made his final decision at the age of 18. The turning point: “When I was 18 I started to think seriously about it. Do I really want to dedicate myself to this? Is this my path? I felt it, I believed it and I said: ‘I have to create it’. I reunited with my family, I left I study them and dedicated myself 100% to it. I know it’s not going to be easy. There will be moments of everything… but I know I have what it takes. At that time he had not even had a fight in MMA. But that idea occurred to me and I started pursuing it. “At the moment we are doing well, I think.”
Road to the UFC
And now, at only 22 years old and 2-0 as a professional, he is moving towards the UFC. The goal of every MMA fighter. However, although his record is now spotless, ‘El Diamante’ has already tasted defeat. He did it as an amateur, and he does it on a daily basis: “It’s not just something about sport, it’s something that can be extrapolated to life. There are also moral defeats in training when the mind asks you to do one more round and you don’t do it. You have to know how to manage defeats and they are what allow you to accumulate experience and wisdom. The defeat is there, in the day to day.”
You have to know how to manage defeats and they are what allow you to accumulate experience and wisdom. The defeat is there, in the day to day
Yaman visits MARCA.
Some experiences that, of course, have helped him get on track… and that help him in the difficult task of supporting the expectations of a country that is diving headfirst into the ocean of mixed martial arts, with dozens of fighters. wanting to reach Olympus, the best league in the world. He is not afraid of challenges: “I’m not afraid of being classified as a future UFC. In my mind it has already happened. I just have to prove it to the world. Time after time.”
Regardless of what people say, I have the path marked out and nothing and no one is going to change my course.”
“As Muhammad Ali used to say: ‘The important thing is that they talk.’ I know what I am, I know the direction I have, I know where I’m going… I work day by day and I have that confidence. Regardless of what people say, I have the path marked out and nothing and no one is going to change my course,” he concludes… like his opponents. He doesn’t set a date, he’s not in a hurry, but he knows it will arrive. He will be in the UFC. It’s a matter of time.
