December 3, 2022 Ivan Shtyrkov fought according to MMA rules with Asylzhan Bakhytzhanuly and won a union victory. On March 7, he lost to Magomed Ismailov according to boxing rules, and on May 13 he won a kickboxing fight against Pyotr Romankevich. On August 26, Shtyrkov was knocked out by senior boxer Konstantin Erokhin.
On November 18, in Sochi, Ivan entered the ring against Vladimir Mineev according to the rules of kickboxing (where Mineev has 25 fights in professional versions alone) and lost by the decision of the judges. When Shtyrkov entered the ring, he already had a date for the next possible fight: on December 15, they were ready to see him in Yekaterinburg in a fight according to MMA rules against former UFC fighter Maxim Grishin . The positive point of this story is that Shtyrkov promised to accept or not accept the fight with Grishin only after meeting Mineev. At the same time, Ivan came out of the locker room fresh and smiling.
— From some fighters you can hear such a thing, UFC champion Georges St-Pierre spoke about it most clearly: “I like to train, I like to improve, I like losing weight, communicating with people… I don’t like I don’t like just going out and fighting. Didn’t you feel the same way before the fight with Vladimir Mineev?
“Very often I experience similar sensations and find myself thinking that I don’t have the aggression necessary to fight at all.” And it is necessary for MMA, for kickboxing. Wrestling, sambo is a slightly different philosophy. Therefore, when a person has this healthy fighting aggression, it is a little easier for them. He’s waiting for a fight. And I really like to keep the routine, but to go out and fight, it’s a different mental level. It gives me no mental pleasure.
– To understand – Petr Yan from your room, it will just be a different psychotype?
– Yes. In a way, it seems to these people that for them, fighting is the sport itself.
— Were you surprised to see how much taller Vladimir Mineev is?
– Yes, I wouldn’t say and I can’t look at it from the outside. He’s taller, but 90% of my opponents are taller than me. In terms of dimensions, I removed a little excess, drained the water, dried a little fat and Vova was left with a free mass.
— You have had many fights under different rules, where have you had to endure the most pain?
— I think those were just low blows from Pyotr Romankevich. They therefore give a cumulative effect. The trick worked, it seemed good. I sat down, got up and already felt that my leg was swollen. They say it’s the same with the liver, but it’s quite serious.
— Who ends up hitting the low kick harder: Vladimir Mineev or Pyotr Romankevich?
— Vladimir didn’t land a single low kick today. He hit, but we developed good distance to defend ourselves.
“This isn’t the first time I’ve seen you smile after a losing battle.” Can you explain why?
— The battle is lost, but how can we perceive it? Did you want to catch me with tears? Let’s be honest: I was an underdog, plus the last fight with Kostya [Ерохиным], plus I didn’t come for my sport, plus there was pressure. So, I think the result I showed in the ring should encourage me. I always want to win, but it doesn’t always work. The most important thing in this sport is therefore to show a worthy fight to the supporters, to the spectators. I think I did.
— You said that you would accept the fight with Maxim Grishin, who is preparing for you on December 15, or that you would refuse it, starting from this fight. What can you say now?
– Give it a few days and you will have an answer. I can’t say it now.
— Is this a question about an emotional or physical state?
– You just need to understand. Now, while I have adrenaline, after the fight, everything is boiling. There is no pain and tomorrow I will wake up and anything can happen. And the emotional state has long been at a low level in terms of load. I think that the RCC will not offend Maxim Grishin anyway. I mean in my obligations towards him. I think he won’t be unhappy.
— You fought with Vladimir Mineev, whom no one has knocked down for two years. Did you think it would be easier for you with small gloves and the ability to translate?
“You could feel everything during the fight: the ring, the kickboxing, Vladimir Mineev and me. I felt overwhelmed, even though I fought with Romankevitch. I even talked to the guys on my team and noticed that Vladimir felt so confident because he was on his own territory. He’s been doing this since childhood, he understands why they give points. If we had a sambo match, I would probably feel more confident. Even in MMA, it would be more practical: get closer, connect, translate. Kickboxing is one of the fastest growing striking sports. Today there were a lot of knockouts throughout the evening, I didn’t want to replenish this piggy bank.
— You said your fees would be around 10 million rubles. Did they give them to you? (Shtyrkov laughs and immediately grabs his rib – editor’s note.) Is this how the fight goes?
– Yes yes. Well, they beat me for nine minutes. Like we said, nine of the most precious minutes in life. We seem to agree on the schedule, so I hope [на выплату].
Live broadcasts of mixed martial arts tournaments can be seen 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.
