“The ring is already our territory.” Magomed Ismailov’s brother analyzes Mineev’s fight and promises him a tough fight according to boxing rules

In 2018 and 2021, Vladimir Mineev and Magomed Ismailov had two outstanding fights under MMA rules, entering the cage from completely different venues. Ismailov was engaged in freestyle wrestling and combat sambo, Mineev – kickboxing and boxing. In addition, in boxing, Mineev received a master’s degree in sports, won the Moscow region and even considered an Olympic career.

Over the past two years, both have barely appeared in MMA: Ismailov fought with Shlemenko, but fought three times under boxing rules. Mineev did not participate in mixed martial arts at all, but he fought professional kickboxing four times and once participated in amateur competitions.

After Mineev’s last fight with Ivan Shtyrkov, most of the winners were asked about a boxing fight with Ismailov, the idea of ​​which was taken up by promoter Kamil Gadzhiev. We decided to ask the Ismailovs about this.

– You were seriously involved in kickboxing – what do you think about the fight between Vladimir Mineev and Ivan Shtyrkov?

— The format itself leaves a lot to be desired: three three-minute rounds for such a fight is very little. The athletes just got ready and that’s it. I think such fights should take place over five or six rounds. Some open up from the fourth round, others, on the contrary, get tired, and their opponents can work more dynamically, and the show becomes better for the audience.

It was clear that Ivan Shtyrkov did not recover from the knockout in the previous fight with Konstantin Erokhin: Ivan was careful, did not miss any significant blows, but he did not take any risks. It was overall a risky decision. You saw Mineev, he can hit hard. In terms of defense, I liked the way Ivan worked, but there was no aggression from him. Even if at the end of each round Ivan chose a 40 second period and tried to move forward, to go and strike, that would be good, maybe it would be possible to give him the fight.

And we also see that Vladimir Mineev is not training very well yet, it is clear that with business trips to the Northern Military District he has lost shape and gained weight. As a result, Volodya won with a minimal advantage. Well, three times three is nothing.

— Let’s imagine that in the evening you turn on the TV and see this fight. What rating would you give from one to ten?

“I tell you, I evaluate this fight, knowing that Ivan was recently knocked down, that Vladimir did not run a full camp and did not prepare. I would rate based on that. It’s normal, we worked, we tried, but… it happened like this. And the format of the battle itself did not allow them to open up: after all, three by three is nothing.

— Did you like it or not?

– I did not like. It was clear that Ivan had not come to win, he had come to work beautifully and safely. He didn’t take any risks. And Vladimir, seeing that he was winning, did not develop his success further. If Ivan showed aggression and got caught, then maybe Vladimir would start working more aggressively. So I would say I didn’t like the fight. But I understand everything and take into account all factors.

— They each earned around 10 million rubles. If you were a promoter, would you pay that kind of money?

– Look, if we already have an agreement, if we have already signed a contract, then, of course, we have to pay. A contract is a contract and cannot be broken. But in general I would pay 10 million for six rounds, it takes one person to open up and show up. Three rounds is not a very good format. Or you have to do three rounds of five minutes each.

— Your brother Magomed criticized this fight (“Just an unreal kickboxer called Ivan Shtyrkov on his kickboxing site and showed nothing. You can understand Ivan, he came out to fight in kickboxing without being a kickboxer. For Shtyrkov c “It’s a victory, but for a super amazing kickboxer, it’s a defeat. “For Mineev to be a bright and normal fighter, he needs to be kneaded for a few rounds,” Magomed Ismailov wrote on social media. Do you have any talked with him, did he say anything else?

– No, I didn’t talk about it. I heard his opinion, his opinion is valid. And this is largely a response to Kamil Gadzhiev, who says that Mineev can defeat Muhammad with one hand tied behind his back. You see, I even laugh when I say that. It’s ridiculous. In this form, Wladimir, even with both hands, will not be able to box against Mohammed’s front hand. Especially now, when we see him in his native element, kickboxing. We notice that it has now become a little slow. Vladimir can get in shape, an athlete, in principle, can get in shape if he starts training professionally, if he does a camp for two to three months. I think now he just underestimated Ivan, he probably saw the fight with Erokhin and decided that.

— Why would Magomed agree to a boxing fight with Vladimir Mineev, provided that Vladimir is a master of sports in boxing and boxing in All-Russian tournaments?

– And boxing is now Mohammed’s territory. The ring is our territory. So consider this Vladimir entering my brother’s territory. If we talk about kickboxing, let’s assume that kickboxing is still Vladimir’s territory, but boxing is already our territory.

— When did Magomed take possession of the boxing ring? What kind of fights?

– In all his boxing fights, he showed it, and that’s not the limit. It’s still in development. It’s clear that age is wearing thin. However, an athlete can no longer perform today as he did at 25-30 years old. But all the boxing fights you’ve seen can indicate that. Even in their boxing confrontation with Ivan Shtyrkov, there were more effective actions, faster attacks, six rounds brighter than now, when Ivan Shtyrkov entered the territory of Vladimir Mineev and the fight turned out so boring. These three fights definitely need to be considered: the Durodola fight, the Ilic fight, and the Ivan Shtyrkov fight. We take these three fights.

— Do you think you can knock out Vladimir Mineev in a boxing match?

– We do not have such a task, our task is to send boxes and not miss a single shot. The most important thing is not to miss the rhythm. We know that Vladimir hits well, he’s a guy who hits. We saw how well he hit the heavyweight in the previous fight. He has character, so the most important thing is not to miss, beat and show his boxing school. We can say that there will be a fight between a boxer-player and a knockout fighter, and Muhammad here will be a player, a faster boxer.

—When would it be acceptable for you to fight with Vladimir Mineev?

— After Kamil Gadzhiev’s last statement, it is no longer acceptable and pointless to discuss it. There was a conversation about money – Kamil Gadzhiev began to say that it was inappropriate, something else, but it seemed to be advisable before, but now he said that it was difficult to find money. I don’t know what this is connected with, but I see that he starts such conversations. I put it in neutral. I haven’t put the car in reverse yet, but I put it in neutral, and before that I was driving in third gear and slowing down a little.

We now have other options. There are proposals from other sites, we are going to go in a different direction, because the most important thing is the financial aspect. Athletes don’t perform like that, they perform to make money.

—Is this fight worth 50 million?

— There, we can talk: maybe 50, maybe 40, maybe 35. We have to sit down and talk. But when Kamil, as I heard, says that this fight is not worth a lot of money, that’s already a bad conversation. We have been pointed in this direction, now we are turning away. If Kamil had said this fight was worth it… Maybe I didn’t hear it, maybe I should reconsider and listen to what he said. If he had said, we will search… we will find… we will go to the common… he would have said that this fight as an organization interests them, that it is our story, then it would have been another affair. I believe that this fight is now the most interesting for the viewer, especially if Muhammad wins this fight, then their third MMA fight will generally be canon, because then a rematch will be inevitable. But no one will fight for Tula gingerbread.

— How many rounds would it be optimal for Magomed to spend in a fight with Vladimir Mineev?

– We would agree to eight rounds. After all, if they win 10 million in three rounds, then it makes sense that eight rounds would cost more, especially since the seventh or eighth round is already intrigue. The fighter who strikes can change the outcome of the fight in his favor at any time. He may lose seven rounds, but in the end he can turn the tide of the fight in his favor.

— Do you have any other options?

— Muhammad is preparing now, we have several proposals: there is an option with Anatoly Tokov, there is an offer for a fight with Timur Nikulin, there is even an offer from League One, there is a fight with Darren Till in development, I can’t say any details yet. I think within a month the rest will become clear. As we train, we prepare, we get in shape. There are many proposals, no details.

— Did Magomed train in front of you with a person of the level of a master of sport in boxing?

– Yes, with Omar Aydemirov, now he fought at “Our Deal” for the title with Damil Sharafutdinov. They had five full rounds of three minutes each, they boxed – and they boxed more than once. They had good sparring with Magomed Ankalaev, and they also had sparring with MMA fighters, with boxers lighter than him, smaller than him, but faster. So we worked with various partners.

— With what weight would you advise Magomed to go into battle against Vladimir?

— Vladimir looks very tall now. I’ve never seen him like that. And at this weight it looks very heavy and feels bad. It seems to me that weighing 90 kg will also be beneficial for Vladimir. If he had gone to bed, it would have been better. It is not because we are afraid, but because in the form in which we have seen it now, it is a gift to us. Yes, he’s dangerous, he packs a punch, but we see that even now, in his element, he hasn’t really done anything. Yes, he was a little better, locking up his hands and feet, but Shtyrkov blocked almost every punch, Mineev landed a few punches, and that’s it. We don’t want to win against Vladimir at his worst. We want to beat him in his best form, and 90kg is his most powerful form.

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.