Oleg Taktarov had 24 professional fights and acted as an actor in 93 films and TV shows. The fights earned Taktarov the UFC belt (the first for the Russians, in 1995). Movies – immersion in the film industry and getting to know its first people. Now Taktarov is 55, he continues to act, but has recently returned to fighting and will fight 52-year-old Jeff Monson on August 18 in Moscow under boxing rules.
This fight turned out to be so in demand that two organizations wanted to do it at the same time, but one canceled the tournament scheduled for August 10 and greatly upset the Russian fighter. Frustrated, Oleg Taktarov doesn’t talk too much about the fights, but lights up when asked which male role suits him best in Pulp Fiction. It will be very easy to compare inclusion.
Oleg Taktarov’s answers about MMA
– You had to fight on the 10th in a tournament whose organizers have already canceled events several times. When did you learn that this tournament was also canceled and did you find out the reasons for the cancellation?
– And I didn’t even ask, they just told me he wouldn’t be there and that’s it. Although I started to prepare for it on the 27th and, in principle, I was in good shape.
– Upset?
“No, I don’t get mad at things like that anymore.
You will fight on the 18th Friday. When did you last train?
– Yesterday. Slightly scattered his hands on the “rackets” (analogous to boxing paws. – “”). I train in Sarov and Nizhny Novgorod.
– You said a bit harshly about Fedor Emelianenko when the news came out that he wanted to fight Mike Tyson…
– What did I say abruptly? “Repeater – Uncle Piggy” – is it hard? I think it’s awesome, funny and cute.
– Would Fedor have a chance against Tyson according to boxing rules?
– Ask Fedor. I don’t have to ask about the Emelianenko family.
– You said you could also fight in the Emirates.
– Yes, there was a kind of agreement with Roy Jones, but not everyone is ready to pay for Roy Jones … and even more Tyson.
– And how much should Tyson have for the fight with you?
I think he should have done it for free. Because he got too much for the fight with Roy Jones and offended the whole boxing community.
– How?
Lewis and Holyfield beat him twice. At the same time, Holyfield slipped a real active fighter Vitor Belfort and the money was completely miserable. And Mike Tyson took 20 times more than would be decent. And Roy Jones just got 20 times less for this fight. Now he has a grudge and he starts slashing the price just because of it.
– Would you fight with Tyson for free?
– No, he didn’t deserve to fight for free with him.
Oleg Taktarov’s answers are NOT about MMA
– What do you think is the most significant name in cinema: Lars von Trier or Quentin Tarantino?
– Quentin Tarantino is a man who watched old movies very carefully. The old always needs to be re-covered, and I’m not saying it made it better, but it gave us a reason to reconsider some footage. For example, I didn’t know that Django was originally played by Franco Nero, an 81-year-old Italian actor. I watched a lot of movies and learned about them through references in Tarantino movies.
For me, of course, his main film is Pulp Fiction, because you can see his work there, you can see his decisions, where all the stories come together in one. In the same vein, Guy Ritchie’s “Snatch” (in literary translation – “Big Jackpot.” – “”) was made.
Everything they had then, they almost missed. In general, it’s rare that someone can create more than one project, song, movie. Tarantino was with us at the 2001 premiere of the movie “15 Minutes of Fame.” But James Woods was there, and for me, James Woods is a greatness. With Robert De Niro (also starred in the movie “15 Minutes of Glory.” – “”) everything went well for us, and because of that I perceived him more as an older friend . And Woods, when he came, was a childhood hero to me, from “Once Upon a Time in America” (he played Max Berkovich. – “”), and so I just said hello to Tarantino at that time and that’s him.
There are two super charismatic roles in Pulp Fiction: Butch, played by Bruce Willis, and Vincent Vega, played by John Travolta. Which would you like to play more?
“Willis would have been a better choice for me, but in general, I think with Samuel L. Jackson, it would be easy for me to create an image. Because he…he’s great. But the only thing, it’s that when we met him, I didn’t need to talk about it. When people approach you and you immediately say, “Oh, I admire your talent”, they walk away immediately from you. I had the same story with him. We then stood at a producer’s dacha, there were about 40 fairly well-known people there, but for some reason I went to see Jackson and I I opened my mouth. Although before that, they communicated normally.
– I wanted to ask about Guy Ritchie’s movies…
– I trained him. In Beverly Hills, we did jiu-jitsu. While Madonna was studying Kabbalah (a mystical trend in Judaism. – “”). He studied jiu-jitsu and took lessons with me, although there were many trainers in this school. And he offered me bodyguard roles, but it made me laugh. He also said that my partner [по фильму «15 минут славы»] Karel Roden gets normal roles from you, and I train and train you and don’t even take money. But in the end everyone laughed.
Do you like his movies? Or do they only like inexperienced people born in 1988?
– Before Madonna (Madonna played in the title role of the movie “Gone” in 2002. – “”) I liked all his films. Once he did the Madonna movie, everything went downhill. Even “Gentlemen” I somehow did not perceive. And his worst movie is Sherlock Holmes. Previously, it was clear that he was working on every line of the script. That’s how Petya Buslov worked on “Boomer” and rewrote every line, every line himself … And then they started giving him projects, money for them, and that’s it .
– Which is better: “Brigade” or the second season of “Gangster Petersburg” about Chelishchev and Zvantsev?
– I did not watch “Brigade” from the word “absolutely”, but “Gangster Petersburg” – I really liked the first two seasons. There, the material was very high quality, the game was excellent, I can’t even say who was a failure there. I have a friend, Igor, I will not give his last name (probably, we are talking about Igor Lifanov. – “”), and it seemed to me that he was the weakest in the first season . Although he is a great actor, I played with him in three projects, I saw performances with him, but the cast was so strong in Gangster Petersburg that he seemed to me the weakest there .
Live broadcasts of mixed martial arts and boxing tournaments can be viewed 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.