When the Annoucer mentions the name of Tamerlan Dulatov on Saturday and the image appears on the screen on Octagon 76, the German flag is proudly displayed next to his name. However, it was not always a smooth relationship between the country that he loves and the middleweight. In fact, from Chechenia, his first years in the country contained many learning moments. And those learning moments prevented him from achieving his goals earlier.
“It’s like my own fault. I was often in prison because of a few fights on the street,” said Dulatov. “If you hit someone or hit someone in the wrong place, you get problems and I learned in the hard way. And that is why it took so long to get to the professionals.”
A big reason for those issues came from a misunderstanding about cultural standards. Where Dulatov and his brothers come from, it was a way of life and something that your elderly teach you, is right.
“I am from Chechenia, we don’t come out like a normal country. We grew up with fighting; we grew up with our adults, our big brothers and family teach us to be a man. A man has to know how to fight, a man has to protect his family,” he explained. “And with this mentality I come to Germany. It was very fast, everything, someone says something, you say what’s going on, you fight him, you hit him. But it’s Germany, we are not in Chechenia.”
But even after everything he and his family turned the switch. With his brother Islam in the UFC and Tamerlan who also make a name for themselves, the country where they have come to now now stands behind him.
“Man, to be honest, it is a great honor, because as you said, it was a difficult start here. We flew like refugees, so we come to Germany, we don’t have the best start,” Dulatov explained. “But at the moment I see German people on the street, you know, they say you make us proud, you make our country proud, people like you, you are refugees.”
He will make the German people proud again on Saturday. He gets the chance when he fights Sebastian Hirtenlehner as part of the Okatgon 76 Prelims. You can see those fights on Octagon.tv with the Vecht card that starts at noon.
#Octagon #76s #Tamerlan #Dulatov #Proud #represent #Germany #tough #start