Russian fighter Ivan Shtyrkov told that initially he did not plan to fight Vagab Vagabov according to the rules of kickboxing and in the future the rivals could fight in MMA.
The fight according to the rules of kickboxing will take place on February 24 and will become the main event of the RCC 18 tournament. The fight in the weight category up to 100 kg consists of three rounds of three minutes each.
– The poster with your names looks loud and cool, but when you learn the rules of the fight, this euphoria disappears – something is wrong.
– I understand what you’re talking about. Once again, expectations and reality were slightly at odds. If our fight was part of the RCC Fair Fight, part of a kickboxing tournament, then it would seem logical. And we have that there is a big RCC MMA tournament, and in the main fight there is a kickboxing meeting. But it happened the same way as in the case of our fight with Romankevich. This is a case of force majeure, we had not anticipated such a scenario. And now we had to save the evening, we needed big names. Kickboxing… It’s often more spectacular than MMA fights.
But if there had been a sign of Ivan Shtyrkov vs. Vagab Vagabov according to MMA rules, then all phases would have come together. I understand what you’re talking about. And while we were talking, in the future we can consider our meeting in MMA. This is not the case with Mineev, where it was written that we would have two fights. But why not organize an MMA fight with Vagabov? If we are both fit and motivated, then it is very possible that our MMA fight will take place. There aren’t many free agents left in Russian mixed martial arts in the light heavyweight and heavyweight divisions. And there are fewer and fewer opportunities to make such major announcements. And the MMA fight with Vagabov makes sense for people to see this competition. Why not? I am for.
But based on last year’s mistakes, I’m not going to anticipate and make announcements for future fights. Now I have a fight, and it must be fought. And then make a decision based on your health, fitness and motivation. And I planned it last year (laughs).
— Was there an opportunity to replay the situation at the RCC 18 tournament so that you and Vagabov would have an MMA fight on February 24?
– That wouldn’t work. We spent most of camp preparing for kickboxing. And now they’ll tell us let’s talk about MMA… And it’s four weeks before the tournament. It probably could have been done. But it is better to make such an announcement later so that everything is over. Also, I heard, not from Vagab, that he had problems with his shoulders, so he took a break from his performances. It is possible to overcome such problems, but fighting them is problematic. There may also be such a nuance – that wounds need to be healed. It’s conversational… I heard he had some injuries. In the end, he and his manager agreed to do kickboxing without any problems. And we wanted to put this fight under RCC Fair Fight. Maybe our MMA fight will happen in the future. And then you won’t have this dissonance,” Shtyrkov told .
Chtyrkov, 35, has 22 victories in MMA, as well as two defeats and a draw. Vagabov, 37, has won 24 times, suffered one loss and ended one fight in a draw.
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.
