A promising Fight Club tournament was held in Moscow on Friday REN TV», attention to which was riveted thanks to three posters at once. About the return of Oleg Taktarov, the retribution of Vyacheslav Datsik and the performance of a boxer from the United States, who changed his name in honor of Vladimir Putin, — in the material Sport.
Taktarov did not melt the Snowman. Even though the fight between eminent MMA veterans was only a consensual event of the show, the greatest attention of those gathered at the Dynamo volleyball arena was riveted to 56-year-old Oleg Taktarov and Jeff Monson (52 years old). The battles that fighters fought at the turn of the century still warm the souls not only of older fans of mixed martial arts, but also of young fans who watched the tube archives of fights decades after those events.
The snowman (Jeff's nickname) has been seen a lot in recent years. What can not be said about Oleg Nikolaevich: Taktarov acted in films, flashed on TV and even tried himself in social activities, but he didn’t go into a cage for 15 years. So the legend's comeback — even for the sake of a boxing fight — hit the nostalgia. And the atmospheric exit of one of the first holders of UFC belts to the ring to the track of LUBE «Guys from our yard» delighted the stands.
No less applause (and a roar of surprise) was during the battle. The men seem to have forgotten what the rules are for their meeting, and gladly returned to mixed martial arts. Taktarov and Monson wielded hard in the clinch on the back of the head, passed to the legs (!) and arranged a showdown in the stalls (!!!). Oleg Nikolaevich even tried to make a painful hold on his leg, and, according to Taktarov himself, brought Jeff to a scream. In general, absolute madness. Which ended in a draw and mutual respect.
MMA veterans should definitely meet again, but in their own element. Both Taktarov and Monson with both hands for such a movement.
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"For me, a meeting according to the rules of MMA will be more interesting. They translate me in a boxing match — I will translate too! With all due respect… Monzon is a man with balls. I thought he was dead, and there are 105 kilograms of pure muscle. I didn't expect such a fight, it turned me on".
Oleg TaktarovMMA Veteran
The Briton «flew» for OleinikIn the main event of the evening, Vyacheslav Datsik, who did not give himself rest, fought with Oli Thompson. Yes, yes, with the same ex-UFC representative who knocked out Alexei Oleinik three months ago. Promoter Vladimir Khryunov wanted to bring Datsik together with Uncle Lesha, however, due to the sensational finish, the development of the duel between Red Tarzan and the losing veteran became irrelevant.
It all ended very quickly. From the first seconds, Datsik went to the exchange, and Thompson instantly broke down. The Briton with the formidable nickname Spartan was completely unprepared for such a pace. It was not possible to wait out the storm: in one of the attacks, Red Tarzan finished off the guest with a blow to the head — the judge was impressed with a standing knockdown with a «dance» at the ropes and stopped the fight, deciding not to bring the matter to even more damage to Thompson's health.
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» ;I trained and prepared with Alexei. And after the defeat of Oleinik, I immediately had a desire to take revenge for Lekha. And my request was granted. In this duel, I missed a couple of casual blows. Lech, I avenged you! Vendetta is over!"
Vyacheslav DatsikRussian MMA fighter
Vyacheslav initially talked about a rematch with Thompson. And there will be revenge, but not with the Briton: after the tournament, Khryunov told reporters about organizing the second fight between Red Tarzan and Alexander Emelianenko, who is undergoing rehabilitation. But already according to the rules of MMA.
Note that in October 2022, Datsik knocked out Emelianenko Jr. in the very first minute of a boxing fight — the victor is sure that AE will be an order of magnitude more competitive in mixed martial arts. Let's see.
The Russified American was received «inhospitably» The most hype figure on the eve of Friday evening was the American Kevin Johnson. It would seem that the ex-contender for the WBC world title, the former rival of Vitali Klitschko at the age of 43, cannot attract the attention of the Russian public exclusively with sporting achievements. Politics came to the fore: an athlete who intended to obtain Russian citizenship changed his name to Kevin Vladimirovich in honor of Vladimir Putin and immediately burst into the agenda of our media.
The organizers caught the audience's request for such content in time: Johnson was awarded a license from the Russian Boxing Federation ( FBI), and during the American’s entry into the fight they turned on the immortal composition of Lyudmila Zykina “The Volga River Flows” in a modern arrangement … And how penetratingly Kevin Vladimirovich listened to the Russian anthem before the fight.
As if about Johnson’s rival Mark Petrovsky no one remembered. In vain! The undefeated Russian had a blast over his newly minted compatriot, but the 24-year-old prospect is unlikely to be happy with a majority decision victory (60-54, 57-57, 60-54; how one judge saw a draw is a mystery). Nevertheless, such an age-old opponent had to be knocked out.
But it did not work out. So, well-deserved praise for Johnson: Kevin lasted all six rounds with a high-class boxer who is 19 years younger. Now the league's matchmakers should look for a simpler opponent for the «new Russian».