“I see no reason for revenge”: Emelyanenko-Koklyaev criticized in Russia

“He entered the ring notorious and exhausted”

The results of the duel between MMA fighter Alexander Emelyanenko and strongman Mikhail Koklyaev, which some media outlets dubbed the “fight of the year”, caused an mixed reaction among Russian experts and ordinary fans. Some of them were satisfied with what they saw. At the same time, many noted the predictability of the result and criticized its participants for an unsuccessful attempt to make a show of a sporting event.

So, the ex-world heavyweight champion according to the World Boxing Association (WBA) Nikolai Valuev said that he initially considered Emelianenko to be the favorite of the confrontation.

“I had no doubt that the battle would end very quickly, I was not among those who expected a long battle. Everything ended as I expected, ”Sport24 quotes Valuev.

A similar position was expressed by former Bellator middleweight champion Alexander Shlemenko, who was directly involved in preparing Koklyaev for the fight.

“Everything went as expected. I did not believe in Mikhail's victory, but I thought that he could hold out longer. The fight showed that it’s unrealistic to go out against a professional fighter as a weightlifter or someone else, ”Shlemenko shared his opinion.

After the meeting, Koklyaev announced his willingness to revenge according to the rules of mixed martial arts. According to him, Emelianenko has already agreed to this.

“In vain, of course, he said such a thing. I know that he had such plans, but everything had to show this fight. And for him he went terribly. I personally do not see the point. If Koklyaev could at least slightly impose competition on Alexander ... But let's be honest: Michael couldn’t do this at all, ”the athlete concluded.

The boxing match was supposed to consist of four rounds, but Emelianenko needed less than one to win. Having no experience in martial arts, Koklyaev resisted only in the first seconds, and then clearly ran out of steam, and the battle ended with a knockout.

Former fighter of the Absolute Fighting Championship (UFC) Oleg Taktarov noted that even in such a short period the difference in class between the rivals was noticeable. According to him, the weightlifter made a number of key mistakes both in defense and in attack, which demonstrated his complete unpreparedness for the meeting. In addition, his fear of Emelianenko prevented him from unleashing his full potential.

“Koklyaev had to go one round at some junior tournaments in order to understand what fear is and how to deal with it. If I were Emelianenko, I would have done the same. How to portray here that Koklyaev something can? Fear is a thing that mobilizes someone and paralyzes someone. Michael has a second option. He entered the ring notorious, exhausted, and by and large fell from fatigue, ”said Taktarov.

He suggested that with proper preparation, as well as the correct selection of an opponent, the strongman will be able to show progress in mixed martial arts.

“If they paid me money for this, I would immediately drag him into the mountains and teach him how to breathe. And there if a heart attack did not happen, it means normal, no - excuse me. It is necessary to put a breather from childhood. Koklyaev’s words about revenge in MMA is not a fairy tale, it’s called “I won’t close my entire mortgage with such money,” Taktarov concluded.

After the battle, it became known that the winner’s fee was 1 million rubles. Koklyaev received 500 thousand rubles for participating in the match.

Russian MMA fighter Vyacheslav Vasilevsky suggested that the weightlifter should not rely solely on boxing techniques. In his opinion, he should have devoted more time to defense and tried to defeat his opponent with a small number of accurate punches.

“Again, Koklyaev would hardly have won, but there would have been a chance. And so he started strewing and boxing with Sasha. This is wrong, it was necessary to go on a collective farm fight, and not get involved in his game. In two months you will never learn to box, ”the Championship quotes Vasilevsky.

"Pure shame"

More harsh in his criticism was the famous promoter Vladimir Khryunov. He recalled that some time ago, Koklyaev openly stated that he had used drugs in the past. In his opinion, the current defeat was the result of bad habits.

“I am disgusted by someone Koklyaev, who gives an interview where he talks about the use of cocaine and steroids. I don’t even want to pronounce his name. And Emelianenko handsome, cracked down on this monster. He needed to do a tomography, then he would simply not be allowed. He was not only not in himself, but clearly unhealthy. In my place, I would have handed over all the money for the fight to orphanages and would never have appeared before my eyes, ”said Khryunov.

Some experts even questioned the feasibility of such a battle. So, the absolute world champion in boxing Kostya Tszyu, who had previously criticized Emelianenko and Koklyaev, admitted that he did not follow his progress at all.

“What was there to look at? I'd rather go to the Zapashny brothers circus than this. I don’t understand why this battle was held. The winner received only a million rubles. Is this money for boxing? As a person who understands a little in this area, I’ll say that the fees for the participants were much higher. But again, I haven’t seen any logic here, ”Tszyu emphasized.

One more Bellator representative Sergey Kharitonov remained in agreement with the ex-boxer.

“Sasha earned, now he will buy a new apartment for himself. Well, of course, this fight is a circus. They are well done, earned money. True, I did not watch it. In principle, there is nothing new. Sasha will come out against the bodybuilder and fight him, he won’t feel anything - it’s all popular now, why not fight? ”The athlete said.

The duel caused a great stir not only among specialists, but also ordinary fans, among whom there were many public figures. So, in the stands of “VTB Arena” there were members of the “Aria” group, rapper Dzhigan, trainer Edgar Zapashny and others. No less audience watched the battle from the TV screens.

The head of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, congratulated Emelianenko on his victory and called the past fight spectacular.

“He showed a clear advantage by delivering sensitive punches. The fight ended in the first round. After another hit, Koklyaev was on the floor of the ring. There was no point in continuing the fight. The referee stopped the fight, counting a technical knockout. Alexander once again demonstrated that he is a strong-willed athlete and an experienced fighter, ”Kadyrov concluded.

At the same time, some were dissatisfied with what they saw. Both the rivals themselves, who failed to show a spectacular confrontation, and the organizers, who delayed the start of the battle until late in the evening, were criticized.

“Sorry for the people who paid the money. No words - this is pure shame. The people were sitting at the screens and waiting for the battle, someone generally in the late hour went to the arena to watch live. I myself sat for three hours, but in the end everything ended in such a disgrace, ”ex-striker of the Russian national team Roman Pavlyuchenko was indignant.