“I am often called a legend”: Balaev about his debut in MMA at 37, a broken leg, Kokorin with Mamaev and friendship with Koklyaev

- You started your career in MMA in 2013. You were 37 years old at that time. How has your training changed since then?

- The methods themselves have remained the same, health has changed. The body passes both due to age and due to accumulating injuries. As a result, you have to coordinate the load, approach wisely.

- Many fighters have serious problems with weight loss. How are you doing with her?

- This is always a difficult process. It never passes without torment.

- How much do you usually have to lose a month before the fight?

- About 18 kg.

- Former UFC fighter Joni Hendricks between the fights weighed more than 100 kg. And this taking into account the fact that he fought mainly in welterweight (up to 77 kg). What was your maximum?

- In connection with a leg injury, I had a rather difficult period. He lay a lot, eats away, so I had to dump a lot. As for Joni, he likes to relax, eat, and hunt.

- Hendricks admitted that he constantly ate venison, and therefore gained so much. What is your favorite treat?

- Ossetian pies. This is probably tougher than venison, because there is yeast, cheese, flour.

- Why are they?

- Very tasty. Once Murat Gassiev was asked what is worth going to Ossetia for. He replied that the mountains and pies. Himself always come back from there rounded. Weight is growing before our eyes.

- Khabib Nurmagomedov admitted that he loves sweets very much. What do you think about it?

- Well, in connection with which you have to drive a lot of weight.

- Didn’t think of performing in a different weight category?

- Do not allow anthropometric data. In addition, there is now very serious competition. They drive away a lot before fights.

• Marat Balaev - about weight loss and nutrition before the fight

- With out of competition period sorted out. What do you usually eat during preparation?

- Unlike serious fighters, I do not have a nutritionist. I read the works of both American and Russian experts, on the basis of which I developed my own nutrition model.

- Whose books did you especially like?

- Mike Dolce (a well-known nutritionist who worked with UFC fighters Ronda Rousey, Vitor Belfort, Michael Bisping, Joni Hendricks and others. - RT ).

- What exactly did you learn?

- What you need to eat more fresh vegetables, fruits and meat. Of course, we don’t have the same venison here, but you can eat chicken. Buckwheat is excellent as carbohydrates.

- How does food change with the approach of the battle date?

- At first, the mode is quite comfortable, but about a month before the fight, you begin to tighten it. At the same time, taking egg white at night.

- What can you afford in the last days before the weighing procedure? Some are sitting on the same water.

- Usually you have to cut back on some carbohydrates. Protein must be consumed further so that the muscles do not disintegrate.

“You said that preparing for the fight with Brandao was complicated by an injury.” But after all, after the fight with Salman Zhamaldaev, you received more than one damage ...

- The brush was injured, in particular, one phalanx fuse. And also fractures of the fibula with displacement and fracture of the nose.

- How was the recovery?

- In the case of the nose, I was lucky. There was no displacement, as a result of which I did not even have to operate. I just began to breathe a little worse. The hand healed, but one phalanx disappeared somewhere. The hardest thing was with the foot.

- What happened?

- Shrapnel fracture, but did not have to cut. Was amazed. About two or three weeks I walked in the tutorial, after which the leg itself fell into place, stretched out.

- Is it true that you broke your leg in the first round?

- Yes it is.

- Usually a broken leg means the end of the fight. How did you manage to spend the remaining four rounds?

- The fact is that the main load falls on the tibia. The pain was present, but not felt so much because of adrenaline and psychological mood. And this despite the fact that I also kicked.

- There were no thoughts that the outcome of the fight was already a foregone conclusion and it is better to refuse to continue the fight, to preserve health?

- It was not just a leg. It also flew over the head. In those moments, he was more worried about the brain. Never in my life I fought in a left-handed stance, which is why I missed a lot. But once it entered the cage, you need to go to the end.

- In 2013, Anderson Silva received a severe leg injury. Not afraid that you could repeat his fate?

- When all this happened, it was so painful that sparks from the eyes fell down. It seemed like he wanted to perform an overhand, but instead he ended up on the floor. But I didn’t think about ending. Yes, from the outside it may look like a feat, but on adrenaline everything feels different.

- Is this your most serious injury in your career?

- Of course. I had no such damage. He broke his nose, but to break his leg ... The fact is that with facial injuries you can continue to move, but here you have to lie. It's time to relax, you are invited to different places, and you can’t get up.

- When the same Silva broke his leg, during the rehabilitation period he was advised to use steroids. You did not resort to similar methods?

- Not. I had enough time for my leg to heal. I have not performed for about a year. Spent a lot of time at home, went to the sea, to Ossetia. Repeatedly showed doctors x-rays, which completely arranged them.

- At this age, few fighters continue to perform successfully, especially in the featherweight category. Doctors did not suggest that you think about ending your career?

- Such advice comes to me regularly. If you listen to doctors, it is better not to leave the house at all.

- So, you haven’t considered a similar option?

- Not yet.

- Recently, a terrible turning point was received by Everton footballer Andre Gomes. Have you seen?

- At first I turned on the video, but when I realized what was there, I stopped it. I didn’t look. It’s unpleasant to see this.

- Do such episodes change the opinion of football players as simulators?

- Of course, although everyone is cunning. True, we do not like such people very much.

- Sergey Kharitonov could not continue the fight with Matt Mitrin after being hit in the groin. Many reproached him for the simulation. Do you think he portrayed pain?

- I did not specifically consider this moment. I can say that I myself was a witness when a fighter received an allegedly forbidden blow to the jaw and refused to continue the fight. True, after a while he sat in the dining room and had dinner with everyone. The organizers saw this, for which they deprived him of the championship belt, and the battle was declared invalid.

- Did you pretend yourself?

- Not. I didn’t have to.

- You are one of the few athletes who have been able to successfully revive their careers after a long stay in prison. What motivated you then?

- At that time I was already 37 years old. He could not return to an amateur sport. In mixed martial arts, you could earn extra money, in addition, they were perfect for a freestyle wrestler. You could say everything was created for me.

- What do you have in mind?

- At that time, freestyle wrestling was one of the dominant martial arts in MMA. Now the situation has not changed much, but then it was felt especially. Most of the battles ended with a transfer to the stalls with subsequent finishing. In this regard, I thought to start coaching, but went the hard way. I decided to learn the sport on my own experience, he became a fighter. He began to pull up the shock technique.

- And in the end decided to stay?

- Yes. Over time, he took a belt, and the appetite comes with eating. I still can’t finish my career.

- Is it possible to say that the decision to speak was directly related to the monetary issue?

- At the time of release from prison, finances sang romances. It was necessary to somehow provide for the children, his wife. In addition, my brother suffered a stroke. He was in the Far East, it was necessary to transport him to Vladikavkaz, to provide medicines. So I asked for a fight in the ACB (currently ACA), and I spent the entire fee on it.

• Marat Balaev - on the revival of a career after being in prison

- Unlike Russian promotions, the fees of UFC fighters often become publicly available. How much do you usually get in one fight at ACA?

- Differently. I would not like to name a specific figure. But I think that in Russia the fee should depend on the level of the athlete’s performance, the number of fans and the excitement that he provides around the show.

“Isn't it right now?”

- Not. The contract stipulates payment for the battle. Say, if I get the right to fight for the title, then the amount will not change. Undoubtedly, it is one thing to criticize, another to create an organization such as ACA. But frankly, such a problem really exists.

- Based on the data from the Tapology website, during your career you have earned about $ 15 thousand. How much is this figure true?

- She's downplayed. After becoming a champion, he received at least $ 15 thousand for the fight.

- Preparing for battles is not only time-consuming, but also a costly process. How do you manage to fit into these amounts?

- It's hard. It happens that countrymen help. Before the battle with Zhamaldaev, support was provided by the son of the president of North Ossetia Zelimkhan Bitarov - he personally sent money. Lately it's easier. Many know me, are proud, happy to help. But young athletes have a harder time.

- How much do you spend on preparing for the fight?

About 500 thousand rubles. But this is taking into account the lack of flights. Some train for a month in Thailand, then fly to the USA. This suggests that they have good sponsors. I have none.

- There is no desire to open your own hall in North Ossetia?

- There is an excellent team there, well-known experts, such as Ibrahim Tibilov and Marat Ilayev, work. The Valiev brothers built a gorgeous hall, assembled a team of local athletes. Three of them went to training at the American Top Team. Things are good. I myself can’t teach them something new, except to help in terms of psychology.

- Can we say that there has been an increase in the popularity of MMA in North Ossetia?

- Of course, he is. But if there are promotions in Chechnya and Dagestan, then here they are not. Therefore, this region will always lag behind. Need financial support. There are many local businessmen who need to be consolidated and interested in the development of MMA. If progress has been made in football now, then in mixed martial arts - not yet.

- How do you feel about coaching?

“I think it's mine.” Always managed to convey information to people. Plus, now it has become a more versatile athlete with regard to wrestling in the stalls, shock equipment. I know what a person feels during a weight-racer, a battle, how to put a dropper correctly - I studied everything thoroughly. People are reaching for me.

- How do you assess the potential of athletes?

- When I come to training, I see those who really have a chance to achieve heights in sports. Usually from the whole hall there are no more than three or four of them. The rest are engaged in self-deception.

- I.e?

“They've been going around the bush for years, but at a key moment, they can't take the fight.” Someone is disturbed by psychological moments, someone suggested to himself that he has no opportunities. A very difficult sport, not everyone is given.

- Do you help wards to deal with mental problems?

- Of course. We try to temper people. But mostly students have problems with discipline, so classes are often limited to a couple of crossfit training.

- Does paternity experience help you in coaching?

- Of course. Responsibility to children disciplines. The same applies to students. When I agreed to fight seven days before the tournament and I had to urgently drive 11 kilograms, I realized that people were behind me. Should have set an example for them. I realized that I am the flagship of the Motivator Team and must keep the brand.

- How did the name appear?

- While working with Sergey Nikitin. He began to call me that. He said this in an interview, as well as in a documentary. At first he resisted, but he assured me that it suited me.

- How does this fit with your behavior in the hall?

- Once there, I begin to light up, motivate my wards. When young people see that an age-old person plows so much, they also begin to give all in.

- Nikitin made a documentary about you. What emotions did you experience when you watched it?

- Even now, I have not fully realized this. They often tell me that you are a legend. But the legend is McGregor. He has about $ 100 million in his account. In my case, the financial component does not correspond to the level of achievement.

- How did you react to the fact that they shot a film about you?

“I try to ignore criticism and praise.” This is distracting from the goal. I try to assure myself that I have not achieved anything yet. Of course, sometimes I think that doing this after ten years in prison is a little unrealistic. Probably the parents just gave health.

- Were there episodes in the film that were untrue?

- Not. This is an entirely reliable movie. Nikitin shot a lot in preparation for the fight with Yusuf Raisov. All the frames that you see are not a game of actors. Initially, that fight was supposed to completely go into the feed, but then everything went off the beat. We are no longer working with Sergey.

- Speaking about the athletes who were in custody, one cannot but mention Alexander Kokorin and Pavel Mamaev. Do you think this story will affect them?

- I think nothing terrible happened to Alexander and Pavel. We sat and thought about life. The mind definitely increased. I believe that this will benefit them. Without going through this, Kokorin and Mamaev would have flown in the clouds.

- In your opinion, is the punishment commensurate with the deed?

“That was enough.” They did not kill anyone, did not rape. If they are a little wiser, then they will be of some benefit. First of all, for your children, families and relatives. Believe me, they settled down. Having plunged into this, Kokorin and Mamaev began to think differently.

“Will it hurt their career?”

- On the contrary. At some points, they will stop themselves, realizing that otherwise there could be serious consequences. In MMA, people very often lose fear. Such psychological problems were in Mike Tyson, Alexander Emelianenko. I myself did not avoid this.

- Tell me.

- From childhood, you plow, they promise you a bright future. But then the collapse of the Soviet Union follows, and a piece of cake slips away from you. Therefore, you try to get it in other ways, but you find yourself in places not so remote.

“If you could return at that time and do otherwise, would you do it?”

- Of course. If I had not thought about those events, I would not have achieved such heights in sports. In that case, I was not bad either, believe me. I stole, but I didn’t torment people, I didn’t beat anyone on the head.

“Didn’t you think that your subsequent success would not have been possible without these ten years in prison?”

- Yes. During this time, he was seriously angry at life, but also realized that it was impossible to relax. As Mike Tyson said: “If I give up, it will only get worse.”

• Marat Balaev - about Mamaev and Kokorin

- After leaving the colony, Kokorin and Mamaev immediately went to celebrate. How did you spend your first day at large?

- The guys were invited to a restaurant. We sat and talked. The second and third days passed in the same vein.

“Ten years have passed.” What changes are most striking?

- I did not see the “nine” and “ten”. Then he noticed a few rusty ones. I saw telephones, even tricked out, but by the cars you can immediately see that a lot of time has passed. But the fact is that I sat in Ossetia, and left in St. Petersburg, and these places are different from each other.

- Speaking of Emelianenko Jr. and his fight with Mikhail Koklyaev ...

- I treat Mikhail very well. He greatly impresses me. A big fan of Koklyaev, and he supports me. We even have the same caps.

- What do you say about Alexander?

- I do not like his statements. Most of them are unacceptable. If I were just a middleweight, I would challenge Emelianenko myself.

- At the same time, one cannot help but recall Vyacheslav Datsik, who also performed in mixed martial arts. How do you feel about his fights with bloggers?

- The man has freed himself. He needs to move somehow, do something. It's good that he does not kill, does not rob. On the Internet, the more dope, the more subscribers and views. If tomorrow I write that I was running half-naked, then the audience will quickly gather.