Sayat Abdrakhmanov leads several UFC fighters as a manager. In the last tournament, two of his athletes – Shavkat Rakhmonov and Arman Tsarukyan – fought in the main and main events. Rakhmonov won, and it was his 16th early victory in 16 fights. Tsarukyan lost, having suffered his first defeat since the spring of 2019. The five-game winning streak is broken.
The defeat turned out to be unanimous among the judges (all three gave Tsarukyan only the first two out of five rounds), but visually controversial: Arman won every round by the number of significant blows, knocked down his opponent in the fourth round, hit very hard with his feet to the body. The opponent, Mateusz Gamrot, responded with constant transfers to the ground and a very viscous fight.
– It seems to me that not everyone knows exactly what the rules of MMA tournaments contain. Did you read them or did you try to talk to one of the judges? – a question to the manager of Tsarukyan and Rakhmonov Sayat Abdrakhmanov.
– I did not communicate with the judges, they are rather closed people. And as for the criteria – there is no consistency. We see fights that follow a similar storyline, but are rated differently.
There are rules where seemingly damage and high hits are put first, but at the same time we see different decisions every week from almost the same judges. If we take the duel of Zhalgas Zhumagulov, where he controlled and translated, the fight was given to his opponent. And someone said that now more hits in the rack are rated. And in the Tsarukyan fight, control without punches was rated higher than a knockdown in one of the rounds. Two weeks ago we saw the Valentina Shevchenko fight, where hitting was clearly a priority, not a control.
I would like to have a criterion. If control is front and center, let it be in every fight. If hits – let it also always be.
– Have you tried to talk to these people who referee the fights at the octagon: Saul D’Amato, Ron McCarthy, Chris Lee?
To be honest, I haven’t even tried. But listen, have you seen at least one interview of the judge on the net, at least an explanation of why he thought that? Or are there open analyzes of errors by the commission? Every week, they judge without any consequences. It’s a problem only the UFC can solve.
Commission [штата] is an independent organization, but they get their main bread from the UFC. At the same time, once a week there is a battle that raises questions, demands an explanation.
– How did you envision the fight between Arman Tsarukyan and Mateusz Gamrot?
– When I watched for the first time, live, I saw that Arman won the first three rounds for sure. Round 4 – I think knockdowns and accent punches mattered more than control without punches. At the same time, when I watched the fight, I understood that the judges can see and evaluate in their own way. But by the end of the fight, I was sure Arman had taken at least three rounds.
– Based on the results of all the interviews I’ve done on this subject, I understand that modern MMA rules prescribe giving the round to the fighter who has more often and more convincingly created episodes where the fight could end earlier than expected. Do you interpret the rules the same way?
— I pay attention to accentuated heavy blows. If we take the control criterion, then at least the control should be longer than half the lap. In this case, it was not. Control for control is a bit confusing. I’m sure the same judges can sit in a week and judge differently. You can’t even say that Sol D’Amato still prefers control.
– You once said that filing protests was a meaningless process.
– It would make sense for us to have an agreement between all managers that every controversial decision should be appealed. And not like that I filed, and then for a month none of my fighters fight and nobody cares. If there was an agreement on this issue, and all the managers appealed each time, it would already be a precedent. I think only the UFC can influence that.
– I feel like it’s still like a tacit request from the UFC – not to take it to sports arbitration. The one who appeals will immediately catch a colder attitude towards himself.
– Such a moment can also be. You have to pay attention to everything. When a commission has this much power and no control, it can work against you.
Armand looked very upset when the decision was announced. Tried to say he’s 25 and the youngest fighter in the top 15?
“The first thing I told him was that our goal remains the same: to win the belt. A step back has now been taken, but it doesn’t change anything. We watched the fight, discussed mistakes, discussed of what could be done better. And they took positive things. This fight has only increased Arman’s shares in the organization. I’m sure this is not the last main fight for him , and just after the tournament we were told that Arman would be offered a new contract on better terms.
– Shavkat Rakhmonov has 16 first wins in 16 fights he fought in the co-main event. Satisfied with how fast he’s progressing for those stats?
— Satisfied with the results and the progress made. Next week he will be at least 10th in the ranking (in the weight category up to 77 kg – ). He has big fights ahead of him.
– He called Stephen Thompson (a former title contender in this weight. – “”). It was obvious that it was at your prompt. Do you think they can give him Shavkat as an opponent?
– Steven is number seven in the standings, he has no scheduled fight. And Thompson is not a fighter who shy away from tough challenges. It’s a very real and doable fight.
– Do you recommend who to call?
– I give advice, I say what is the alignment, but there is already another decision for the fighter, listen or do it your way.
– Hypothetically, Rakhmonov could now fight with the champion of this weight Kamaru Usman? Or does he need more experience?
– Shavkat hasn’t peaked yet, he’s winning, but he has enough skill to compete with any top division.
– He said his potential fight with Khamzat Chimaev (11 wins, 10 ahead of schedule) would be ideal as a title fight. Do you have the feeling that this is generally only interesting for Russian-speaking audiences?
– I have reason to believe that this fight may never happen. But I wouldn’t want to express them.
– What news can we expect from Peter Yan?
– As you can see, all of the top bantamweights are broken down by fights, but there are rumors that flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo may move up to a higher category, and their fight with Peter is entirely possible. We will ask him.
– Jan started active training?
“He leaves next week for a two-week aquatic camp, which could turn into a preparation camp if the date of the fight is known.
Source : MatchTV
I am Sandra Jackson, a journalist and content creator with extensive experience in the news industry. I have been working in the news media for over five years. During this time, I have worked as an author and editor at various outlets producing high-quality content that attracts readers from different demographics.
