Judoist Alexei Ledenev, who became Ivan Emelianenko’s first MMA opponent, said in an interview with that he communicated on social media with the UFC champion and Beijing Olympics bronze medalist. Ronda Rousey .
Ledenev, 38, will perform at the MMA tournament in Moscow on May 26 in the status of former champion of Russia (2007) and master of world-class sports in judo. His opponent will be 34-year-old Ivan Emelianenko, the younger brother of famous MMA fighters Fedor and Alexander Emelianenko.
How do you find Ronda Rousey’s career in MMA?
– And I didn’t just watch her fights, we corresponded with her live. I like it because many judokas in Dagestan, our mighty team, still base their wrestling and throwing on leg passes (before judo rules were changed – Approx “”), and Rousey, in as the Games bronze medalist, was able to pick up under two legs, under one leg and it looks cooler and more spectacular.
– What did you write about?
– I invited her to my show “Judo with the Stars”. And so, they whinnied, laughed, she said, “It’s cool that you’re doing this in Russia, but I’m still at home.” If I understand correctly, she now leads a more closed life.
– Have you communicated with other judokas who have switched to MMA?
– I corresponded and we spoke with Yoshihiro Akiyama, the Asian judo champion (14-7 in MMA; 2-4 in the UFC – Approx. “”), and when I sent him my going out for fights in kimonos, we had a good laugh about that, he said he had done the same. I know Lavrik well (Denis Lavrentiev, the second of Peter Yan – Approx. “”), we lived with him in Podolsk at the training camp, – Ledenev told “”.
Ronda Rousey made her MMA debut in 2011, became a UFC champion and held seven bantamweight belt defenses (up to 61.2kg). The athlete ended her career in 2013 after two losses against Holly Holm and Amanda Nunez.
Live broadcasts of the Mixed Martial Arts tournaments can be seen on and Match! Fighter”, as well as on the sites matchtv.ru and sportbox.ru.
Source : MatchTV
I am Ashley Ortiz and I am a professional journalist working for Athletistic. My specialty is in sports journalism, particularly boxing. I have written articles for some of the most renowned publications on the subject, and my work has been featured across both print and digital media platforms.
