“My mother cries, but she never asked for the performances to end.” Shlemenko’s powerful words after victory

The plot is very simple. In August 2022 Alexander Shlemenko in Yekaterinburg he lost to Alexander Ilic in 22 seconds. On December 15, 2023, the Russian fighter took his revenge, forcing the referee to stop the fight 9 seconds before the end of the first round. Shlemenko made several throws and after one of them he finished Ilic on the ground with a good body shot. After the fight, a very satisfied Shlemenko approached the journalists and then spoke individually with several of them for about an hour.

— Evaluate the battle.

“He runs, it was hard, but what makes me happy is that he never hit me.” I’m all clean. To be honest, I have to go to Moscow now. If everything had been broken for me, I wouldn’t have gone, but nothing was broken.

“It’s been a long time since we’ve seen you this busy.”

“I felt like the energy was coming directly from within. Last year I was turned off inside, but now everything is fine. I’ve changed a lot of things, I even have a different mouthguard. My friend Evgeniy is standing here, his company advised me on nutrition, I was honestly nervous because I felt light, I didn’t want to eat, I thought maybe I wouldn’t have enough energy . And I worked the first round very powerfully, I had a lot of strength.

And we also rejected some people from the team, so you see a completely different me. Because I was devastated. I looked normal, but mentally devastated. Now my boys are with me, Andrey Koreshkov, Sanya Podmarev, Andrey Pulyaev and others from our team. We are as one.

It is important to know how you feel morally, so that all sorts of deer do not cling to you, do not complain. And the worst is when those close to you wish you defeat. The best people to steal from you are your family members; they know where your money is. And also in your team, if someone is working for you to run away, you feel empty. Now we don’t have that anymore.

– Ilic said he could organize a third fight, are you interested?

– What’s the point? Regarding the first fight: I can send each of you information that the judge in the first case worked with his superiors. We were together. Where have you seen him say when stopping: “Defend yourself, otherwise I will arrest you.” » I didn’t lower my head there, I held it. Was he finishing me off? It’s nothing. Now that I finished him, you could see what a black eye I gave him. It didn’t even hit me. Okay, let’s have a third fight, even now, I’ll take my fee back and leave. Who will still pay Ilic? And I also have Maga as next on the list, although he’s unlikely to agree.

— Why do you think Magomed Ismailov won’t accept a rematch?

– Well, do you think I’m going to, or something, run after him? If he agrees, we will do it tomorrow. If he doesn’t agree, I will fight harder. I’m already waiting for a call from Kamil. Kamil Gadzhiev promised to call me after this fight. If everything goes well for us, then my next fight will take place at AMC Fight Nights, from Kamil you will find out with whom.

— It seems that Magomed will appreciate your performance and will be interested.

“If he likes it, he won’t be interested.” Magomed is a very cunning person, he loves to fight when he is sure of winning. In our confrontation, even if you look at it: a month before the fight, I had a broken nose, I still left, and Maga had surgery [на колене], but after two months of recovery, he did not come out, but postponed the fight. He acts more cunning, but I’m used to taking risks. If he sees a good strong fighter, he will wait. He will wait until, in his opinion, I become weaker, but I will not become weaker. Now move forward.

“Ilic said the fight was stopped a little early. How do you feel?

“I wanted to finish him off hard, but he did it anyway.” I hit him good with a knee while he was on the ground. His legs are long and he also delivered a dangerous punch to the face. I don’t know if you noticed or not that I changed positions, now I moved to the right, because I realized it would be ready for a lefty. And that’s it, he was in shock, nothing happened for him. I finished it very well. But he also performed well.

— What is your plan for 2024?

– Break everyone. This is the main plan. I’ve had this before. But a parasite appeared that drained all my energy. It’s my fault, I fed him myself. Cleaning had to be done.

— For the first time after the battle, you shouted “Russians forward”.

– Yes, because the Russian tribune appeared. I know the boys didn’t come here, they’re based in Moscow, but they recorded a video for me to show support. Handsome men. Everyone had been waiting for their appearance for a long time. And their appearance in tournaments is simply a bomb.

— You were at the tournament with your wife, where do the children stay at such times?

– Well, we have grandparents. Now they stay with my parents, it happens more often. It’s just that my parents are older. And what’s the point of staying there for two days? Alena arrived here later than me.

— Which of the children watches the show??

– Alena, did the children watch the fight? .. Sasha usually wakes up, but I don’t really like it when they watch. Sometimes I lose and they cry. And it’s not just for my children, it’s the most painful thing for me. I remember I didn’t have kids myself, I was talking to people, one person said to me, ‘My son cried when you lost.’ And it really hurts my soul. And I know my son cried when I lost. He was in Yekaterinburg for the first fight with Ilic, albeit in a hotel room. And you know how hard it is. I repeat, losing is not scary, what matters is how you handle it. It is not the one who got into trouble who disappeared, but the one who lost courage.

– What does your mother tell you about fighting? Ask when are you going to finish?

– My mother never said: “When are you going to finish?” Mom cries constantly, it’s hard for her to watch. I know. When I started, she was worried and wouldn’t look. It wasn’t until I found out the result that I was able to watch. She experienced so many moments, just like Alena (Shlemenko’s wife – ). Alena, do you remember when my ears broke? Remember, I asked you all to pump the fluid for me. Did someone pump it? (Alena Shlemenko answers “no”). And they ask me if my mother watches the fights. When I was pumping blood out of my ear, no one helped me because it was scary. And my mother saw a lot of things: two broken arms, broken legs, a stitched face.

But she never told me to end it, she understands that I have taken the path of a warrior, that it is difficult for me. She supports me, cries all the time, it’s hard for her, but she doesn’t tell me to end it.

—Has she seen anything of the battles she won?

– Certainly. And Sviatik showed him. He uses YouTube, searches for “Alexander Shlemenko” and they watch. My mother knows how to use YouTube and watches my interviews. Do you know what the hardest thing is? She also reads the comments that some deer write. So I’m speaking to these people, come to me, tell me to my face. And the parents are very suspicious, they do not understand that this is some kind of rat’s writing.

—Where did you have such a fight?

– Yes, I haven’t shown everything yet. I could spin it and throw it beautifully. I didn’t spin it because I thought I would get tired. I seemed to feel fine, but I thought I might die suddenly.

— What is the essence of your experience in nutrition?

“First, I took a DNA test and eliminated all the foods that previously numbed me. It started to dry out and my face stopped swelling. I gave up sweets. And now, after the weigh-in, on the day of the fight, I ate deer, real meat. All day after the race I ate buckwheat with deer. And you know, eat, it seems like there is nothing in your stomach, but you don’t even want to eat. But there is energy.

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.