AMC Fight Nights chief Kamil Gadzhiev says Russia’s Alexei Makhno won on judges’ scores the moment the fight with Dmitry Bikrev was called off.
On Friday in Moscow, Bikrev defeated Makhno by technical knockout in the fifth round of the AMC Fight Nights tournament and defended his welterweight belt. Bikrev has 14 wins and three losses. Makhno suffered his tenth loss with 25 wins.
– I saw two scenarios – either an uncompromising fight between Bikrev-Makhno, or Bikrev will knock out Lekha if not properly prepared. And Dima will end it all with his big splashes at the start of the second round. And then it all came together. By the end of the first round, it became clear that Lekha was ready. Did Lech surprise you? He didn’t surprise me, otherwise I wouldn’t have organized this fight. When I came up with this fight, someone twisted it at the temple, “What are you?”. My logic is that Bikrev is not a wrestler, he will fight from a standing position. Makhno only needs that, he knows how to do it. Another question is how ready he is. Makhno is a fearless guy who can fight. To be honest, I didn’t believe in his victory. And few believed. But I can’t say that Makhno was surprised. The plot turned out cool, – the correspondent reports Gadzhiev’s words.
– At the start of the fifth round, did you have the feeling that Makhno could take the belt?
– I always thought that the fight would end rather in favor of Dima with a knockout. It’s just that Lech missed a lot, lost his focus. If this round ended conditionally in a draw, then this fight should have been given to Makhno.
– Because of the deducted point?
– Yes. Despite the fight being even, there was something to hold on to.
– At the time the fight was stopped, who won according to the referee’s notes?
– Makhno directed. I asked Viktor Korneev by a slight margin, and the fifth round could have been decisive. He said if Bikrev had won the fifth round, he would have kept the belt.
– It would be a draw.
So it would be a draw.
– For the organization, would it be better for Makhno to become champion, or does Bikrev continue to keep his belt?
– Bikrev is more status. Makhno is a fighter of a different weight class. He is light. And here is an unexpected plot … Marif Piraev, Goiti Dazaev, Takhir Abdullaev (potential rivals of Bikrev. Immediately after the fight, Bikrev had a duel of views with Dazaev, with whom he was originally supposed to fight in this fight, but Dazaev was injured – “”.) These guys also allegedly challenged Makhno. Also, there would be a few more people. For example, Yusuf Raisov, who might say: “Recently released Lekha.” So (if Makhno wins) it would be a cool time for the organization.
– Would it be interesting to bring Makhno back to lightweight, given that a new champion of this division appeared in the last tournament – Magomed Sulumov?
– I don’t believe Lech can come in at lightweight anymore. When they weighed 77 kg, when the weigh-in was the day before June 24… Before these well-known events. Lech at 77.6 kg looked very dry. It will be impossible for him to register 70 kg. For him, the lowest is 75 kg.
All UFC tournaments are broadcast live on and Match! Fighter”. The next league broadcast, which will take place on the night of July 16, will be broadcast on “Match! Fighter”, starting at 01:55 (Moscow time), as well as on starting at 05:00 Moscow time As part of this show, Victoria Dudakova will make her UFC debut, and Albert Duraev will also fight.
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.
