One of the most anticipated rematch in Russian mixed martial arts may soon take place.
Kamil Hajiyev, president of the Fight Nights Global promotion company, announced that the second fight between Vladimir Mineev and Magomed Ismailov is likely to take place in six months.
“This confrontation has been discussed for two years.
The magician does not need to invent anything.
It's simple: you need to complete your commitments to another league.
And start discussing revenge with us.
We need to respect the contracts of other organizations, in any case, he must finish at the ASA, ”Sport24 quotes Hajiyev.
The rivals themselves again started talking about the resumption of the confrontation.
After defeating Dauren Yermekov at the tournament in memory of Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov, which brought him the title of Fight Nights Global middleweight champion, Mineev turned to Ismailov, who was also present at the tournament and even jumped into the octagon with him.
“And still there recently one guy flew into space.
Maga Isma, finish your business at ACA, and I'll wait for you in this cage.
If your head looks like a spacesuit, it does not mean that you are an astronaut.
I wish Mage to fulfill his obligations to ACA as soon as possible, so that later on to present the fans with a continuation of our story, ”Mineev said.
At the same time, Mineev stressed that his statement should not be taken as a challenge.
According to the fighter, he only hinted to the opponent that their confrontation is still not over.
At the same time, he wished Ismailov to hold his last fight in the ACA as quickly as possible, since he himself would like to try his hand at other promotions.
Interestingly, even before the tournament, Ismailov himself hinted at the resumption of the confrontation with Mineev.
“In our past confrontation, he has such a situation that everyone is doing everything for him.
Everyone was bustling about except him.
He liked that everything happens by itself.
But for revenge, he will have to plow, work the way I did.
If you are sitting and everyone is working for you, then you are at least neither fish nor meat.
He must accelerate and move, ”said the fighter.
Mineev, in turn, hinted that Ismailov might not be an entirely clean athlete.
“Will I insist on doping control before our revenge?
Not.
I think I was better than him then and I will be better than him next time.
I think everyone understands that his rash on his back is not because he does not change his shirt.
A magician in space?
And I am here, next to you, on earth.
I'm a Fight Nights Champion.
That says it all, ”Mineev said.
Magomed's answer was not long in coming.
He expressed his willingness to undergo doping testing if the opponent doubts his purity.
In addition, the fighter said that he is the only worthy rival in Vladimir's career.
“Here you are talking about chemistry and pimples on the skin, and they can appear from sweets.
We know bodybuilders without one pimple.
I want to tell the whole country that Mineev is a "chemist"!
The main thing is not to be offended.
I am responsible for the words, organize a doping control for us with him, I will come and we will get tested together! ”Ismailov said on the air of Match TV.
The first time Mineev and Ismailov met in October 2018.
Then the judges could not identify the winner and the fight ended in a draw.
But, given the long confrontation between the fighters outside the octagon and the constant mutual barbs and even insults, such a result could not suit either themselves or the MMA fans.
However, until recently, rematch was out of the question, since in February last year Magomed signed a contract with ACA.
In this promotion, he has already won three victories, including over Alexander Emelianenko, for the sake of a duel with which the athlete had to go to heavy weight.
It is worth noting that in recent days there has been talk about Ismailov's transfer to the UFC.
When asked about a possible fight with former contender for the middleweight belt Yoel Romero, the fighter noted that it would be an interesting confrontation.
In addition, he stated that he would not mind changing the promotion.
Lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov advised Magomed to refrain from moving to the UFC.
“Brotherly, don't go to the UFC.
We need a star in Russia, there are a lot of them in the UFC.
Light it up here for ours, ”Nurmagomedov said in an interview with Ismailov.
In addition, he remembered a funny episode related to Ismailov's victory over Emelianenko.
It turned out that Nurmagomedov made an unusual bet on the outcome of the fight.
“For your fight I owe three more rams.
The one who owes me rams - he will explain to you himself.
I put three rams on the fact that you will not win, but will win by domination, ”the UFC champion recalled.
View this post on Instagram
Publication from Magomed Ismailov (@maga_isma) 10 Sep 2020 at 3:34 PDT
As for Magomed's closest rival, he is most likely to be American Chris Honeycutt, known for his performance for Bellator.
First, ACA President Alexei Yatsenko announced this, and then the Russian fighter himself confirmed this.