One of the most anticipated fights of the ACA 158 tournament, which will be held on June 2 in St. Petersburg, was the showdown between Russian lightweights Yusuf Raisov and Alexander Matmuratov. However, three days before the show, an unpleasant message was received – Raisov withdrew from the fight for health reasons. After the league’s official statement, Raisov wrote an appeal:
“Unfortunately, the fight is cancelled. I have been practicing this sport for 10 years, and this is the first time for me. I hoped until the end that the injury was not so serious, I did not do an ultrasound, because I knew that the placebo effect was also present. I thought everything would be fine. I drank painkillers every day and exercised. But the injury, probably due to me drinking painkillers, got even worse and I had to pull out two days before the weigh-in. I realized I couldn’t run.”
turned to Matmuratov with a request for a response to canceling the fight with Raisov.
“WE TALKED WITH RAISOV. WISH YOU GOOD LUCK AND HEALTH”
“To be honest, there were mixed feelings,” Matmuratov began when communicating with . As they say, I wanted to cry. But at first there were laughs – I thought they were playing a trick on me. After all, the fight failed twice, and then for the third time … I thought: “This is not possible.” In general, as soon as I heard this news, I felt like crying and laughing. When I was convinced of the authenticity of the message, there was nothing to laugh about.
– Have you spoken to Raisov?
– Yusuf personally dialed me himself, explained the situation. Anything can happen in our sport. He apologized and said, “I know you prepared a lot for this fight, that our meeting was disrupted many times.” In general, Yusuf explained himself. And I fully understand. We wished each other good luck and health.
– How to psychologically survive such breakdowns in combat? Fingers in the nose?
– I admit, yesterday I was depressed. The first time I went to Thailand for serious training, but the fight did not happen. Then we were supposed to fight on May 15, but the fight was postponed to June 2. And I went to Dagestan to prepare for a month.
The difficulty is that you are constantly at a distance from your family. As they say, dad through the phone’s front camera… And the kids are small, it only happens once in a lifetime, and you miss that moment. In this regard, it is morally difficult – you do not spend time with your family, but at the same time you do your job, for which you should receive money. All preparation goes down the drain, there are financial losses and shortfalls.
– ACA chief Alexei Yatsenko said the organization is looking for an opponent for you on June 16 at the ACA 159 tournament in Sochi.
– Yes yes. I’m trying to find an opponent on June 16. I immediately requested a fight on that date. I understand that I am taking a big risk. I was already in St. Petersburg and practically gained weight, I had a few pounds left. And I understand that I will gain weight now. And soon I will have to fit into the category again. So I take risks. And all athletes understand that there is a peak in form and there is a decline. However, I am ready to do anything for some kind of fight. I need to fight, otherwise I’ve been without a fight for over six months, but I’m in fighting shape.
“WE NEED TO DEVELOP THE CONTRACT WITH ASA, THEN THINK IF WE NEED TO FIGHT FURTHER”
– But is this desire to have a duel related to some kind of ambitions or financial moments?
– I will not conceal – these two points. Ambition comes first. I don’t live only in sport, I have my own projects. And during that time, I could have earned the same money while being with my family. Do you understand?
And now it turns out that I was not with my family, I left projects, but I did not fight a single fight during such a period. Am I in shape just to train for the sake of training? I’m 33, I need to prioritize. We don’t fight for medals anymore, like we used to for amateurs.
What are your ultimate goals and ambitions in sport?
– It’s hard to guess. I am about 34 years old. I have a contract for four fights. And when signing this agreement, I set myself the objective of holding these fights in a year. I have now had a great training camp. I’m probably in my best shape right now. In general, I want to work honestly on my contract, then we will see if it is worth continuing to fight or not.
Someone will say: “Why are you complaining, you are only 33 years old. Vener Galiev fights at 47, Marat Balaev at 46. They are beautiful, legends. But each time it becomes more difficult for me to gain weight, but I have to watch out for my family.
“OUR BATTLE WITH RAISOV WILL TAKE PLACE ANY CASE, BUT WE MUST LET THIS BATTLE MOVE ON”
– Is it important for you to argue with Raisov in the future?
This fight has already been postponed three times. And at this point, you just have to step over this duel. I need to fight. After all, it can’t last forever. I said this to Yusuf wishing him good health. He is a young fighter, let him heal well, giving himself the opportunity to fight good fights for several years. But right now, I have to fight someone.
At the same time, I understand that the public and the league are interested in our confrontation. Many of my friends bought me tickets for this tournament … In general, most likely, our fight should still take place someday. But let Yusuf heal first, the league will provide a date… This fight will still happen.
– To summarize: while you abandon the confrontation with Raisov.
– Yes, you have to step over this fight, let go of these emotions and move on.
– What is your attitude towards Raisov, because after your cross talks, you might have the impression that there is some kind of tension?
“I didn’t take it personally in any way. Yusuf took my words in his own way, we discussed everything. I have nothing but respect for him. He’s an athlete, doing the same job as me and other fighters. Nothing close to negative.
– In conclusion, I would like to ask you to speak on the eve of the final fight of the Lightweight Grand Prix between Kazakh Artem Reznikov and Russian Eduard Vartanyan. This fight will headline ACA 159 in Sochi on June 16.
– This is my own. I personally trained with Edik. I know what he is capable of, what a fighting IQ he has. But that doesn’t take away from Artem’s merits, he’s a good fighter. But, in my opinion, Vartanyan is a more diverse fighter – he can both fight and punch. And Reznikov, as we all understand, is a fighter. As a drummer he is a class below Edik. Therefore, I give preference to Vartanyan. That’s my personal opinion, but I’m by no means calling Vartanyan a clear favorite and giving Reznikov a chance. They are equal fighters, but a slight advantage, in my opinion, is on Vartanyan’s side.
Matmuratov has 14 wins and five losses in MMA. In the ASA, the fighter competes in July 2020, after an unsuccessful debut in the organization, he takes five wins in a row.
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Watch live broadcasts of ASA league tournaments on the federal channel and thematic channels of the holding, as well as on the websites matchtv.ru and sportbox.ru. The main card of ASA 158 will be broadcast on the channel, starting at 9:00 p.m. (Moscow time). The rest of the fights will be displayed on “Match!” Fighter”, start – 6:25 p.m. (MSK).
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.
