Russian MMA fighter and former Glory champion Artem Vakhitov told how training differs in Florida and at the Universal Fighters club in Dagestan.
Vakhitov, 33, switched to mixed martial arts after a long career in Muay Thai and kickboxing and has won two victories in three fights. Earlier, as part of the Glory promotion, Vakhitov defeated current UFC champion Brazilian Alex Pereira and became the champion of the organization. In the spring of 2022, Glory asked Russian athletes to stop all contacts.
— In May you spent some time in Makhachkala. How would you rate this experience?
— In Dagestan, we often tried to fight, I was next to Roma Kopylov and Muslim Magomedov, the ASA champion in the under 93 kg category. Of course, there were many difficulties in wrestling that needed to be worked on. I understand that. But there were no problems in the rack. But I understand that only through difficulties, through difficult moments, you gain experience. I have been in America for a month now, and I feel that I am making very good progress in protecting myself from transfers or getting out of difficult situations.
— Isn’t it true that in Dagestan you arrived after training and realized that you couldn’t do anything in wrestling, and because of this your motivation dropped?
– No, it didn’t happen. I understood that I was not a fighter and I had just learned it. Of course, some things didn’t work out, others were difficult. It so happened that after a day of fighting, Roma Kopylov asked me: “Well, does everything hurt?” I said: “I don’t think so yet.” And then the next day my whole body really hurt. But it was such a pleasant pain and I knew that I was doing everything right. In general, I liked it in Dagestan, everyone told me that there were no such moments when they just try to break or strangle you at all costs. I helped someone to hit, and they also helped me to fight.
— How does training in the United States differ from training in Dagestan?
— I train at the Kill Cliff gym, Henry Hooft is a kickboxer himself, we played in the same tournaments more than once when he was traveling with Tyrone Spong. In this gym, it is the strikers who are introduced to MMA. At the same time, they allow you not to forget the striking techniques and kickboxing.
Compared to Dagestan, in America it probably works in such a way that you come to the gym at a certain time, immediately start wrestling and you have an hour and a half training process. In Dagestan, there is a good general warm-up, so you will be tired after, and then training. But here, the warm-up is your personal choice and more individual work. A lot of time is spent working near the cage or against the wall, and there are many techniques for this. In fact, there are also a lot of Russians training in America. The head wrestling coach Said is there, he gives a lot of advice and polishes a few points. And there you go, you have done your job – and that’s it, off you go. In Dagestan, as a rule, a lot of guys are still hanging around, finalizing some of their business, “Vakhitov told .
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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.
