Sports tells about the younger brother of Russian MMA legends Fedor and Alexander Emelianenko Ivan, who two months later may debut in professional sports.
About a high-profile duel
According to promoter Vladimir Khryunov, the debut of 35-year-old Ivan Emelianenko will take place on May 26 at the REN TV Fight Club tournament in Moscow. A potential rival is blogger Svyatoslav Kovalenko, who defeated Alexander Emelianenko by split decision at the end of 2022.
The confrontation will be held according to the rules of mixed martial arts.
br>New Emelianenko in MMA
Ivan is a little-known figure. If not secret. We know almost everything about the two older brothers, but we can barely scrape together five interesting facts about the younger brother. And yet:
Training with the star brothers was not in vain. Ivan has the title of Master of Sports in hand-to-hand combat and Master of Sports in combat sambo. By the way, in the last discipline the athlete became the world champion;
As Alexander stated, with his help, his brother entered the St. Petersburg Institute named after Lesgaft at the department of wrestling, but … He could not cope with the name Emelianenko. He abandoned both training and studies — he was expelled from a higher educational institution;
After the failure at the university, he joined the army, where he served in the elite troops. As it became known in October 2022, Ivan decided to go as a volunteer to Ukraine, to the special military operation zone (SVO);
Despite the bitter conflict between Fedor and Alexander, which has been going on for many years, Ivan, it seems, remains the link between the quarreling brothers. Judging by the interviews of the warring parties, both athletes keep in touch with Ivan;
Lives in Stary Oskol with his mother. Works in private security.
That's why it is surprising that at the age of 36, Ivan nevertheless decided to test his strength in a cage.
What did the brothers say about Ivan's sports goals?
- Fyodor Emelianenko() :
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"Ivan has no desire to be a professional. He fulfilled the standard of a master of sports, but did not want to fight professionally. Everyone has his own path. You will not force a person. He achieved what he wanted — there should be his desire, aspiration. <…> Does not seek my help. We communicate, but he does not ask for help and does not need it. 04/065cbede406c6bf15675166f67bddd7e.jpg «article__list-item»>
Alexander Emelianenko (on HukVam YouTube channel):
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"Ivan lives for fun, it works. He had good inclinations: tall, good body constitution … We used to take him to training camps before. It seems to work, endure. He was head and shoulders above his peers in terms of percussion technique. The fight could be escalated. But at some point, Ivan became lazy and realized that he did not want to endure the regime and schedule that the athlete needs.