When Serbian Alexander Ilic started his career, his namesake Shlemenko was already Bellator champion and had around 50 professional fights. Now Ilic’s stats are 13 wins, 5 losses, Shlemenko is 61-13, and they will fight on August 26 at a tournament in Yekaterinburg. The RCC League recently recognized Shlemenko as the most called-up fighter in Russia, recording that the Omsk man has unanswered calls from Shara Bullet, Magomed Ismailov, Vyacheslav Vasilevsky, Yasubi Enomoto and Alexander Emelianenko. Then everyone can decide for themselves whether these people will be happy or upset if Ilic suddenly defeats Shlemenko.
Right now, a Serbian girl is getting her Joker makeup done for a photo shoot:
Why do you like this image so much?
“When I was a little kid myself, all the kids wanted to be Spider-Man or Batman or Superman. And I liked the Joker. I think bad guys are more honest. I’m like that too. If anything the world goes to the right, I’ll go to the left. I’m not one to look and copy the other. I had a tattoo of the Joker when I was playing basketball. Then I started doing MMA, one of the guys remembered me by my tattoo and after the second professional fight he gave me the name – “Joker”.
– Do you consider yourself somehow stronger than previous rivals of Shlemenko?
It is difficult to say whether this is true or not. Because every fight is different. I don’t know the mentality of the other fighters. We’ll see, it’s Friday night.
– Let’s clarify – can you offer Shlemenko something he hasn’t seen yet?
– I can’t reveal all my tactics, but I’m left-handed, like him, and I’m a drummer, like him. I know he already had experience with southpaws and with very strong fighters like Melvin Manhoef. He [Шлеменко] tough, he’s got great skills, he’s got crazy mental toughness. I see that every fighter had problems with him, but more in the psychological (mental) part than in the tactical aspects. So I think I’m better as a drummer, I’m more technical, I have longer arms and legs. My knockout power is greater than his. It will be fun to watch our fight.
– Will you be surprised if Shlemenko starts fighting you?
– Not. It’s MMA. I expect everything. I know he knows how to fight, that he has a very dangerous guillotine. He finished fights with rounds against very strong fighters. So – why not? I expect everything from him. But if I see that he has started to fight me, I will know that I have already won the battle in the pit.
– If he starts to fight, then you will consider it your small victory? That he was afraid of your rack?
– Yes. That’s what I said. If he starts beating me, I’ve already beaten him in a standing position. It will be a very big psychological victory for me. I expect everything. I might fight. Who knows? It’s MMA. You never know what will happen. I already have dueling tactics. Of course, he will fight standing with me. I know he wants to challenge himself. Like me. I am also a warrior and I want to test myself. Because of all my opponents, no one had a chance in the standing position. Everyone wanted to bring me down and fight me. But I know Alex is good at standing up.
– You have an old photo with Alexander. When and how did you do it?
Yes, I posted this photo in 2014. I was on Abu Dhabi Warriors. Maybe a friend of his – Tiger Sarnavsky fought there (Alexander Sarnavsky, Shlemenko’s student. – “”), and my friend Vaso Bakochevich too, and I was in his corner. I met Alex and at that time I only had one professional fight. I asked him for a photo because it’s a legend. When I started my MMA journey, he was already a Bellator champion. And I asked my friend Vaso what he thought, if I would ever be ready to fight big legends, big names like Alex Shlemenko. And now it is happening. I realized my dream. I love him, I respect him a lot, because he’s one of those guys I followed when I started.
Everything is possible in life. I believe in such good stories, good energy, good atmosphere. This is my chance to show everyone: Russia and the whole world that I can fight in the RCC league. I think it’s one of the toughest leagues in Europe. Perhaps in the world (the RCC league was founded with the support of the Russian Copper Company. – “”).
“Do you consider Shlemenko your toughest opponent?”
– In percussion technique – one hundred percent he is. And maybe also in mental games. But I fought different styles of fighters, for example, the last fight with Carlos Vemola, who is now the champion [Octagon MMA] light heavyweight… So I agreed to fight in the next weight class, but I’m a middleweight, and he was very big during the fight. So every fight is different. Maybe this will be the hardest fight for me, and maybe it will be the easiest.
– Did you hear about any reaction to your fight with Shlemenko from Russian fighters?
– Yes I heard. After the knockout of Damian Yanikovsky (in March 2019, Ilic knocked out an opponent with a kick to the head after a wrong move. – ) everywhere I went people started to recognize me. For example, after this knockout, I went to Thailand to Tiger, where there were about 80 professional fighters. And everyone wanted to train with me: Chechens, Dagestanis, Russians, Slovaks, Asians. It was cool.
– Vyacheslav Vasilevsky said that you are a weak and unknown opponent for Shlemenko. Two questions: do you know who Vasilevsky is?
Yes, I know him, and he knows who I am.
How do you know him and did his words hurt you?
I had no personal contact with him. But he saw my knockout like any other fighter. You may have seen it too. If he says he doesn’t know me, I think he’s lying. It’s a little chatter. But, look, in the end, the RCC called me, and Team Shlemenko picked me for it. For me, it’s a great honor. I respect that because I know Shlemenko can pick anyone else. If you look at his Sherdog page, you can see that everyone he fought was very tough, very tough fighters. Vasilevsky has nothing to say to me. He must wait his turn.
“Do they know Shlemenko well in Serbia?”
– In Serbia, people watch MMA: Fedor Emelianenko is in the first place for them. He is the biggest name in the history of mixed martial arts. Next is Khabib. And the third immediately Alexander Shlemenko. Therefore, he is in the top 3 of the best fighters of all Russians. Everyone knows him, of course.
– Shlemenko’s favorite move is a backfist. Was there someone on your side who punched or otherwise kicked him a lot?
– Yes it was. During the preparation, I did a lot of exercises for roundhouse kicks and punches. But, as I said, I’m left-handed, I have a different position. This does not mean that it will be impossible for him to use this technique, but everything will be different. And I move around a lot, I don’t stand up. And I’m the one who can punish him for his mistakes.
Source : MatchTV
I am Sandra Jackson, a journalist and content creator with extensive experience in the news industry. I have been working in the news media for over five years. During this time, I have worked as an author and editor at various outlets producing high-quality content that attracts readers from different demographics.
