In the past, Salikhov has waited until just before fight week or during fight week to make the long travel from Dagestan to the United States. Before his bout with Li, he struggled to get a visa and that affected his training and conditioning for that fight.
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Salikhov believes he was winning that fight before “The Leech” caught him with a massive strike in the second round that knocked him out of the fight.
“I win by points in the first two rounds before I got punched. Before that, I felt that I was getting tired,” Salikhov said. “I came to America nine days before the fight, and I couldn’t get a visa and I didn’t train a lot. I just did pads and that was it. Camp wasn’t that good, but I respect Li Jingliang; he did a good job and he got me with a punch. If I was training better maybe I wouldn’t get tired, and he wouldn’t get that punch.”
This time around, “The King of Kung Fu” touched down in the U.S. in September and spent the remainder of his training camp at American Top Team. His early arrival exposed him to more training partners and helped him get out of his comfort zone.
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“I just understand that I need to work more with the big teams like American Top Team. Before I trained with a small team in my republic in Dagestan just like two or three guys. With this big team, it’s much better,” Salikhov said. “I feel comfortable with the guys from Dagestan but sometimes I train with the other guys to get out of my comfort zone. It’s a big difference.”
Salikhov is confident that leaving no stone unturned this time around will help him recapture the magic he had during his five-fight win streak. It was a streak that had him knocking on the door of the welterweight rankings.