January 13, 2016 aspiring MMA fighter Magomed Ismailov wrote a post on a popular social network: “Is it just me, or has a local Conor McGregor arrived in Russia?…” Thus began Ismailov’s appeal to Vladimir Mineevwho aggressively challenged Alexander Shlemenko. Thus began one of the greatest fights in the history of Russian MMA.
As Ismailov himself later explained about the chemistry of this fight: “I gave Vladimir the opportunity to speak…”. Magomed turned out to be one of the first fighters in Russia who agreed to go after journalists and social networks and promoted the fight with Mineev to historic proportions (by industry standards). The first time they fought was on October 19, 2018, just two weeks after Khabib and Conor. Draw. The second time – October 16, 2021: Ismailov fought, but got tired and was killed in the third round. Now it was possible to organize the fight only according to the rules of boxing. Kamil Gadzhiev did it again and he explains why you need to watch it. Eight three-minute rounds, weight category up to 92 kg.
In this interview:
— How did you enjoy the weigh-in?
“I would not say that at the weigh-in, nerves appeared or that someone went crazy. The nerve will appear from the very beginning of the fight. You will see, the battle begins and it goes. Everything will change in the first round, you will even notice it. It will be such an unpleasant fight for both. There will be no friendly fights, as has often happened recently. Not everything here is without sin in this sense, but it will not be like in the Mineev-Shtyrkov battle, it will be completely different.
– Are you sure Vladimir will win?
– But nothing has changed, there is no news that makes us think differently. There will be a fight between a man who is good at boxing and a man who… does things like that. Many people say that Maga is a good boxer, etc. I have been practicing martial arts for a long time and I can say that Maga is anyone: he is a great fighter, a great showman, a good wrestler – but he is not a boxer. And let us not be fooled by the battles he has fought.
— How can Magomed, in principle, win this fight?
— Due to Mineev’s poor form.
— What shape do you think Vladimir is in?
— It seems to me that Vladimir Mineev as an MMA fighter is generally 70%, and Vladimir Mineev as a boxer is 50%. But this is a lot. To be honest, in a friendly way, I am not worried about Vova at all. I think he will win comfortably. I am more worried that the viewer watching all this will really get high. And in this sense, the difference in their styles helps us. Because when both of them lack boxing lessons, but the style is different, it makes the fight more interesting, in my opinion.
– Magomed says that if he wins, there will be a fourth fight – according to MMA rules. Will Vladimir Mineev even agree to this, will he want it?
– If he loses, then yes, I think he will want to. For Vova, not everything is so clear from a career point of view. Much does not depend on him. It seems to me that the question will not arise at all: no one will remember the fourth fight of the evening.
I think a lot of work has already been done, because they have changed in these three years. They themselves say that they will never be the same again. Magi has injuries, signed contracts with ASA and has ups and downs. Vova has an SVO, leaving MMA. And yet, we have gotten them back in one way or another. Simply because we probably know them better. Will we see each other again in three years? It will obviously be more difficult. But for that to happen, Maga must win. This is at least the first condition, and it will be better for the industry.
— What is the current total revenue from ticket sales?
“I think we sold 14 million tickets. Look, we’ll reach 17-18 million.” Good numbers, actually. These, I think, are emblematic. I know from myself that organizations rarely sell tickets for such unprecedented amounts. And here it worked. Moreover, these are mainly people who simply bought it from a ticketing agency. In other words, this is not the time when a platform or a community buys, but here people simply buy for themselves.
— Will Khabib be present at the tournament?
— Is he in Moscow? We haven’t discussed fighting with him for a long time. I think not.
— At the time when Magomed Ismailov and Vladimir Mineev were at odds, was it so intense that you had to intervene?
— Of course, we had an event at a venue in Moscow. And they both ended up in the sub-rostrum. I remember I ran straight there to calm both of them down, separating them.
— So it was a fight that the video is missing?
– No, there’s none left. And you can’t take video there. They ended up in a real under-stand. I ran straight over there: “Stop! Stop! Brake!” And somehow he separated them.
– Now, if they meet, nothing will happen, right?
– No. They have already overcome this plot, let’s say it.
— Did they have a last conversation?
“There was no conversation, both simply understand that it is no longer fair.” It seems to me, and I am not the only one who thinks so, that society has changed a lot today. Six years ago, people could fight on the street and no one had to pay for it. Three years ago, this was still hypothetically possible. And now, can you imagine that the townspeople will seize it and fight? And law enforcement and some special services will not get involved in this matter? This is probably a good thing in some way. Because you have no idea how many explanatory notes I wrote after their fight in the arena (i.e. the fight at the AMC Fight Nights tournament on December 20, 2020 – “”). After all, de jure, what happened in the sports palace is an article. There is hooliganism, and we can add to it incitement to ethnic hatred. Then I wrote papers to one police department, to another, to a third, our tournament where Nurullo Aliev and Kirill Kryukov were supposed to fight was canceled. A very serious official told us later that such a situation should not have happened in our country. But we met many good people.
— If they had a third fight under MMA rules, what would the atmosphere be like?
— It would be for the same MMA audience, because now many new audiences have arrived, especially boxing. But an MMA fight would be more discussed in the street. Because MMA is still different, it’s more of a boys’ story. I think everyone understands what I’m talking about. It would have been a massacre. And Magi, from the point of view, for example, of the bookmakers, would have had more chances.
— What are the chances that Vladimir Mineev and Ivan Shtyrkov will fight under MMA rules next?
– They’re going to fight. According to MMA. If everyone is alive. RCC wanted this fight in October, but it probably won’t happen in October. But in December, I think, we’ll do it. He’ll do RCC, and we’ll help him.
— On the same day as your tournament, there will be a UFC tournament with a very mediocre card. We can consider that on that night you “broke the back of the UFC” (popular expression of the founder of the ASV league, Mairbek Khasiev. – “”).
– Well, let’s assume so. “We did it!” We’ll make noise for a year. It turns out I had to get into boxing to break the back of the UFC.
— Will Magomed and Vladimir have bonuses for winning, or do they have fixed costs?
– No, just the costs. They’re doing fine there.
Watch the live broadcast of the PULSE UP fight between Magomed Ismailov and Vladimir Mineev on July 20 from 20:00 (Moscow time) on channel and from 18:55 on Match! Fighter”, as well as on matchtv.ru and sportbox.ru websites.
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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.