“Magomed held on until the end, he has a strong head.” How Mineev defeated Ismailov and what happened next

If you don’t know, let’s clarify: Vladimir Mineev and Magomed Ismailov are MMA fighters who came to mixed martial arts through kickboxing and wrestling. By heating up their confrontation since 2016, they managed to make it the most talked about topic in Russian MMA. And until yesterday, their two official fights included at least five fights outside the cage. They fought in a Turkish hotel, at a press conference, and even in a cage, but outside the official fight.

Kamil Gadzhiev managed to arrange a boxing match for them on July 20, 2024, which Vladimir Mineev hoped to win and in which Magomed Ismailov showed incredible character and perseverance. Magomed suffered damage, got up after knockdowns and continued to fight throughout the entire eight rounds.

If before the fight Mineev said that he was about to retire, then after the fight it was not easy to believe it. Mineev said that he should perform in Astrakhan in October, that he would fight with Ivan Shtyrkov by the end of the year, and that in 2025 he could fight with Vagab Vagabov. Mineev is 34 years old, he is one of the highest paid fighters in Russia and so far his popularity and demand are only growing. Immediately after the tournament, he first went to the fans’ stand, where a large banner with the name of Pyotr Mineev, who died in Gostomel at the very beginning of the Northern Military District, was unfurled. And then Vladimir returned to the ring, asked his wife to come and gave her the belt he received for defeating Ismailov.

Magomed Ismailov did not communicate with journalists. During eight rounds he suffered very serious damage and probably gave the referee and his seconds the reasons to stop the fight. But the fight lasted all the allotted time. After him Vladimir said:

— Was there a time during the battle when it was hard for you?

– I missed a ridiculous blow. It must be reconsidered. The magician is annoying, he has a special technique. He lowers his head and throws powerful punches that are not always visible. He is not a classic boxer. And although we tried to find opponents at the pre-competition stage who had a style as similar as possible, it was of course difficult, because he has a unique and inimitable fighting style.

— It seems that you communicated with Magomed during the battle?

– Probably more with the eyes. Regarding the blows after the command “stop”, the blows to the back of the head, but in general, everything was at the right conceptual level. Thank God, we already have the right confrontation.

— Was there such an episode in the battle when you began to worry about his health, or maybe it was a pity to beat him?

– Yes, it was not a pity. Let’s be honest: of course, I wanted to finish the fight earlier. I saw that it was actually very difficult for him. But Magomed held on until the end. And he has a strong head. I hit something in the first round: either in the forehead, or somewhere with my left hand. And, in my opinion, he even broke it. It looks unhealthy now. I’ll do an X-ray; most likely there is an injury that will not allow me to play in the near future.

— Was there a moment after one of the knockdowns where you were surprised that Maga got back up and kept fighting?

“I saw that his nose seemed broken, the blood was flowing very abundantly. The two knockdowns were definitely hard while he continued. I was surprised by his inner resource, which allowed him to hold on until the end.

— What surprised you about him as a boxer?

– I’m not really a boxer myself. I can box, but I don’t consider myself a top boxer. And Maga is not a top professional boxer either. What surprised me was not her boxing background, but her desire to fight. If we went out and showed super technical fights, it would probably look like a lot of professional boxing fights. They expected us to do the cutting. We rolled her.

– Magomed will want another fight, but under MMA rules. What will you answer him?

— It is difficult to say anything now. Many tasks. We have a confrontation with Ivan Shtyrkov. There is a confrontation with Vagab. There are tasks and responsibilities that I have assumed earlier. We will definitely fight with Shtyrkov. As for Magomed, let us listen to his position.

— Did he ever say in the ring that he would fight you in MMA?

“Somehow it slipped my mind.”

— Which victory were you most satisfied with: in 2021 under MMA rules or now?

“Of course it’s nice to win, but it was harder back then.” Now there was no degree like last time, when everything happened with notes of hatred.

— Is there a possibility that tomorrow, through your friends or Kamil, you will ask how his health is?

“I’ll call him myself, I have the number.”

— Magomed first challenged you in January 2016. Do you think his social media post changed your career and that of your career for the next 6 years?

– And I have already said about this that I am glad that we are such figures of national martial arts who have gone down in history. As fighters, as people who represent their style, their region, their character. And, despite the fact that we had specific confrontations there, today we showed that they can end in the ring. And only so. And outside the ring, the only enemies can be those who threaten the integrity of our state.

— What would you say to those who criticize Magomed for his defeat?

— In general, I am against talking to people who write on the Internet and throw mud at someone. This is not only in his direction, but also in mine. I just do not pay attention to it. I am sure that Magomed does not pay attention to it either. There are people who are unhappy with everyone, who will always hate one or the other. But it is boring without them. To tell them something personally, I think, is not our level. By and large, these are people who sit and write. In their lives, they will never come up to me or Magomed and tell us anything to our face. I think that Magomed does not care at all, he probably already has such a shell there that it is worth learning from him.

— While you were touring the camps in Moscow and Volgograd, did your thoughts remain in the area of ​​the North-West Military District?

— To be honest, residents of cities like Volgograd or Ulyanovsk have a slightly different attitude to what is happening there. There is another world, another life in Moscow. But I do not want to judge anyone. This is not entirely true, because by and large, these boys who took up arms and went there, first of all, each have their own motivation. And secondly, we do this so that there is a peaceful life here. I thank my brothers that today I have the opportunity here, under a peaceful sky, to perform and delight my fans. Have the opportunity to help your unit. And to all the boys who are now in the trenches, I am very grateful that today we can be here with you under a peaceful sky. Of course, my thoughts are there, I have my own tasks to perform. I agreed on them with the leadership and, by the way, I fulfilled them today. And I repeat once again that I dedicate this victory to the memory of my group commander, holder of the Order of Courage, Second Lieutenant Malovichko.

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