Vakhaev (11 wins, 6 losses and 1 draw) and Ponomarev (6-2) will fight in the quarterfinals of the ACA Grand Prix, and it is an exemplary heavyweight fight for Russian MMA. Ponomarev was born in a village near Kemerovo and trains in Moscow. Vakhaev from the village of Himoy and prepares for battle in Grozny. Ponomarev comes to the press conference in rolled up jeans and red Converse sneakers (you don’t often see him in the performance of a tattooed man weighing 130 kg and 196 cm tall). Vakhaev, on the other hand, appears in a shirt and pants made of very high quality material, similar to expensive linen.
“Do you sew it yourself to order?”
– Yes, they sew to order in Chechnya, it is difficult to choose the size. This is Firdaus (a chain of shops and workshops founded by the wife of Ramzan Kadyrov, Medni, at the moment the management has been transferred to the daughter of the head of the Chechen Republic, Aishat, – )
Did you order a lot of stuff there?
Yes, many different costumes.
– You called Ponomarev a “chemist” and mentioned specific drugs. Do you have insiders? Or is it just the way it looks when you look at it?
– You can see it by looking at it. Look at me – am I different? A simple, prominent, normal person, and there the pumping – the veins stick out (at the moment, doping control has not been introduced into Russian MMA organizations, – ).
– You said he uses artificial testosterone and a little “thinning”.
– My friend is sick, his blood is thickening, so you have to drink thinners. Passed this story of his words.
“Would you be willing to take the tests?”
– One hundred percent, even now, even in the morning, even in the evening.
Are you sure Ponomarev will fail them?
– I suggest. There was a good option to earn money (at a press conference, Vakhaev offered to pass the tests on the condition that the failed test give the costs to his rival. Ponomarev refused, – about ” “).
– Eduard Vartanyan said he tried doping, how about you?
– I also tried four or five times, but it does not work for me, all that makes me feel bad. Genetics itself is not suitable.
– Bad influence – how is it?
“Life itself becomes boring and difficult. Sleep is spoiled, life is spoiled. I don’t advise anyone. In combat, a person is functionally flooded earlier than usual. When the muscles are big, they need to be supplied with oxygen.
– You called Ponomarev a “bag”. Did you mean the level of the fight or the level of the fighter?
– The level of combat. He wants to transfer me, let him try. He trains in a good club with good sparring partners. When I say “bag” – it’s part of the fight promotion. With all my respect. I treat him well as a person. I feel the same for all fighters. It’s our job, I can call you a bag. Just a verbal altercation. No matter how I train, it’s a heavyweight, it can punish me with a punch.
– You are one of the few fighters who like to hook an opponent before a fight. But, for example, Yusuf Raisov thinks that it is not necessary to say anything about him, and he will not talk about his opponent either. Have you decided for yourself that it becomes more interesting for the public if you say something?
Yusuf is my brother. He speaks correctly – in Pushkin’s time everyone was silent, because they were fighting a duel (the lightweight Yusuf Raisov said this in an interview – editor’s note). I think he is right, but this is not Pushkin’s time. If I signed a contract with the league, then I should do it. There was no other option in the contract – that’s part of my job. In life, I wouldn’t want to offend or offend anyone with words. I would like to wish everyone well.
– In one of the last fights you put something like a saech on Sergey Bilostenny, now you have knocked Ponomarev off. Why do you do that?
“He does things like that too, looks at me, wants to scare me. Something pushed me forward. I didn’t mean to offend or offend him.
– Did you communicate with Bilostenny after the battle?
– No, he even unsubscribed me on social networks. Upon leaving the league, he unsubscribed. I came across his page by accident and saw that he had unsubscribed from me and I from him. Subscribed to him, but he never subscribed in response.
– You told Dmitry Guberniev that you are the father of many children, but you did not want to develop the topic. Is it because it is not customary to talk about family?
– There are four children. I am fifth.
Do they watch the fights?
– No. I would like to please them not with material and physical things, but so that they learn. They are small, the oldest is six years old.
– Artem Reznikov said if he won the Grand Prix, he would spend $200,000 on an apartment for his parents. What are you going to spend?
– I am already spending on my parents, building a house for my mother in the Chechen Republic in the Naursky district. And so I am from Himoy village, Sharoi district. I am a mountaineer.
– When was the last conflict in the street?
“Year after year, as you get older, you don’t like street fights. But when it comes to your honor, there’s no other option. The last time was a long time ago When I started playing in ACA this did not happen Abuzaid Vismuradov the president of Akhmat club tells fighters that we behave with dignity in society, do not insult or beat people. All the fighters of the Akhmat club adhere to it.
– Have you ever tried to pass a person of such size that it would make you laugh?
Well, yeah, that was about a year ago. They don’t pass me, they immediately take out a knife to cut.
– How did it end?
No, I just left this place. He said, “I’m not your friend, I’m afraid of you.”
Why did he pull out a knife? Did you raise it somehow?
No, I’m just tall. You have to ride it, right? I am tall, he understands that I can … Some kind of psyche works for them – either a knife or a barrel. There are enough haters on YouTube: “I’ll meet you, I’ll gut my guts, I’ll shoot, I’ll kill.” There are brave people. Verbally they are ready, but no one will when they meet. I’m ready to beat anyone who really wants to kill me.
The duel between Vakhaev and Ponomarev will take place on July 21 during the ACA 160 tournament.
will broadcast the ASA 158 tournament live on June 2. The broadcasts will also be available on the matchtv.ru and sportbox.ru websites.
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.
