Currents And Ismailov They fought for the first time at the M-1 tournament in 2013. Almost no one knew them and the organizers placed the pair in the middle of a good tournament. Ismailov had his third professional fight, but he was already having fun by that time and disguised himself as a second, and under the guise of himself sent a bald boy with a painted beard into a cage. Tokov wins with the armbar, Ismailov destroys the locker room and promises to be more concentrated.
Within ten years, both became popular fighters. Ismailov managed to reach tens of millions of rubles in fees without fighting abroad. And Tokov recently fought for the Bellator championship belt in the United States. He lost and arrived at the fight with sinusitis and injuries. They had a rematch at the ACA 172 tournament on March 9, but a week before the fight, Ismailov announced that he would not be able to fight due to a knee injury. Joint problems tormented the cheerful fighter from Dagestan throughout his career, and once even Lokomotiv coach Leonid Kuchuk helped Ismailov recover. Ismailov will now attempt to recover on his own and fight Tokov this fall.
— Ismailov’s injury became known during the week of the fight, when fighters do not train intensively and lift weights. Do you understand how this was achieved in this case? — a question to ASA Vice President Aslanbek Badaev.
– It’s a meniscus injury. Magomed received it a long time ago and during the preparation process it made itself felt, but as all athletes think: it’s okay, it will pass, especially since the fight is so important. He needed revenge, so he continued to prepare, but as soon as the weight loss began, not even the last days, but the pre-final stage, when the strength begins to leave you, when the calcium is eliminated from the body, the injury got worse and the meniscus could not support it, he tore it in training. When your body is weakened, you are vulnerable to injury. Naturally, he wanted to fight. As he says: “If the knee didn’t move, I would go out, it would be possible to repair it…” But the knee moves, there is no fixation. It’s impossible, even in theory. He is undergoing surgery and will try to return as quickly as possible.
— Monday March 4, around three o’clock in the afternoon, you announced that the fight was postponed. When exactly did the league realize the fight had to be canceled?
– On Sunday I fought, but I had a missed call from Magomed, then I arrived at the hotel, I called back, he didn’t pick up, and on Monday, when I was already flying for Moscow from Kazan, around noon he called me and told me. That is, he was sure about it on Sunday, but, probably, something happened there earlier and he was apparently waiting. Usually this all happened last week and every few days he was trying to figure out if he could go out or not.
— Didn’t he tell you in February that there were knee problems and that there were risks with the fight?
– No, no, there was no question of injuries at all. I invited him to the podcast, but he flatly refused. He says the training is very tough. He works day after day and it is even difficult for him to move from one building to another. Therefore, he limited himself as much as possible – the fight was important and he prepared hard. Everything was normal and right, nothing was planned.
— Have you ever thought about calling Alexander Shlemenko and asking him to replace him?
— We had all kinds of thoughts, but honestly, we didn’t remember Alexander. I don’t know why, at least I didn’t remember. We signed Tokov specifically for this fight, and there was no longer even a question of replacing Ismailov with someone else. As soon as Magomed withdrew from this battle, the first thought was: what do we do with Tokov.
— Was the idea of a rematch with Albert Duraev discussed (Tokov beat Duraev in March 2014)?
– No. Albert (after leaving the UFC. – ) did not contact us. We don’t even know what his status is, if he’s going to continue his career, if he wants to play in the ASA league, we don’t know. There were no such thoughts. But if Tokov says that he wants to fight with someone from the ASA league so as not to sit idly by, then, naturally, Albert will be a potential opponent. We just need to understand what he wants.
— People who are less immersed in MMA ask the question: why is there no replacement fighter in this case?
— In such a fight, Ismailov and Tokov can be adequately replaced by Vladimir Mineev or Alexander Shlemenko. Anyone who talks about a replacement hunter does not understand the reality of this profession. You can’t take another fighter and pay him “money miles” because he may or may not fight, but you will still be obligated to pay him. You are guaranteed to have to pay the person who is your replacement, and to pay dearly.
— Tokov remained a fighter in the Bellator league, run by the PFL. In general, can he fight with you?
– Yes, yes, he can speak, but again, we don’t know how the rhetoric will change now. At least before that, there was a feeling that they, his team, weren’t against him performing periodically. It suits them. Most likely, it’s probably a matter of interest on the part of Tokov’s team, if they really want it, I think they will agree.
— How did Anatoly himself perceive the cancellation of the fight?
— Tokov will receive its percentage of production under contractual obligations. And believe me, it’s very good compensation. What is provided for in the contract is a substantial amount. This amount is higher than his last fee in the ACB league.
I didn’t speak to Anatoly personally, I spoke to his team. I spoke to them at a time when they already knew, meaning our guys had already told them. Logical questions arose: what awaits us, whether we should stay in Moscow or whether we can leave. But there was no panic, accusations or hysteria. But we also said: “So that you do not feel abandoned, betrayed, deceived, we are ready to arrange a fight for you at one of the upcoming tournaments, if you need it, we are waiting for an answer.” And now we’re just waiting for an answer.
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.
