“Defeat Miocic? Why not ”: Vakhaev on the transition to the UFC, the conflict with Goncharov and the chances of Emelianenko

- At the ACA 104 tournament you defeated Evgeny Goncharov and became the new champion in the heavyweight division. Can you say that the opponent surprised you with something?

- Not. The guy fought as much as he could. I respect him as a fighter.

- Did you expect that the fight will not last all five rounds?

- I was ready to go the whole distance. But when he began to invest in strikes in the first five-minute period, he realized that the battle would not last all the planned time.

- You obviously made a bet on the fight, realizing that Goncharov would most likely yield to you in it?

- I wanted to surpass him in all aspects. In general, after the fight with Sergey Bilostenny, there was a desire to work in a stance. Then he missed too many hits and some people began to say that I have serious gaps in technology. In a duel with Goncharov, he hoped to stop his approaches with his left hand and try to catch with his right.

- But at the same time you yourself tried to initiate the transition to the stalls ...

- In the first minutes I realized that Goncharov intends to counterattack. There was no point in following the lead. Therefore, he worked as a jab so as not to give space. He missed something a bit, moved with his hands down. At one point, I realized that the man was “dead”, after which he began to impose his own style.

“What do you think, why did Goncharov get so tired so quickly?”

“Because of my mistakes.” He invested too much in his blows. In 2015, he himself made the same mistake in the battle with Vinicius Lima.

- How did you solve the problem with endurance?

- Now I try not to rush during the fight. Five rounds ahead - what's the point of rushing? It is necessary to think, calmly behave during the battle. When you train hard for several months, endurance increases by itself. The main thing is not to burn out psychologically, to be ready to work out the entire distance and do your job.

- In your opinion, the reason for this behavior of Goncharov could be a conflict during an interview?

- You need to ask him. It had no effect on me. I think he understands perfectly well that this is our job. He is already 32 years old. He is not a small child so that you can scare him so easily.

- Athletes often approach fights in an imperfect state. Did you have any health problems before the ACA 104?

- Yes, but I could not talk about it. For three nights he suffered from insomnia, and could fall asleep only on the last day before the tournament. I was not allowed to take antibiotics, but my friends advised me to gargle and drip hydrogen peroxide into my nose. He was in terrible pain. Then it turned out that I had sinusitis.

- Given these difficulties, could you call the battle with Goncharov the most difficult in your career?

- No, I had more difficult duels, where I received much more serious damage. For example, a fight with Denis Goltsov. There really were stars in the eyes. With the same Bilostennoy well missed with a turn in the stomach. I can say that in my career there were opponents and abruptly.

- Many people asked questions about the incident in the third round, when you hit Goncharov in the back of the head. Was this done intentionally?

- I was reviewing the match and I can say with confidence that I did not beat there intentionally. At one point, my hand really sank into the back of the head of Goncharov, but there was nothing serious, much less deliberate. Judge Herb Dean pulled my left hand, so I could not fully control my movements. In addition, I believe that Eugene needs to blame only himself. If you find yourself in this position, then try to get out of it, and do not lie with a turtle.

- Did it surprise you that Dean did not allow you to finish off your opponent?

- Never in my life seen when a fighter was raised from a back mount. Dean is a very experienced judge, but that evening he squeezed all the juices out of me. Sometimes I could not understand what he was doing. Among other things, he fined me for unsportsmanlike behavior at the end of the first round. Then I pushed Goncharov in the face.

- Do you think that this is not a sufficient basis for a fine?

“I didn't hit him.” In any case, Dean is right. He knows his business better.

- Why did you push Eugene?

- Instead of going to his corner, he began to provoke me. However, I do not condone my behavior in this episode. I did wrong. After all, young people take an example from us. This was not the best thing to do. Emotions just got the better.

- Everyone is discussing your entry into the back of the head of Goncharov. Did Evgeny inflict forbidden blows on you?

- I do not think it's worth talking about it. Yes, he hit me in the back of the head several times, and at one point he completely deliberately hit this place. At the same time he complained that I beat him between his legs.

- True?

- Yes. He stabbed him on the inside of his leg, and he told Dean that he had hit him in the groin.

- How did you react?

- He told him: “Eugene, what are you talking about? You know where I hit. Fight. " But he continued to appeal. However, I am not a dirty fighter. Never entered a cage to harm anyone's health. Deliberately never poked anyone in the eye. Of course, sometimes this happened, but it happened by accident. You need to understand that in the cell we are at war.

- One of the most striking events of February was your fight with Goncharov during the interview. Then the impression was that you hate each other ...

- Of course, I do not like him, but I can’t say that I hate him. I respect you as an athlete. Negative feelings are awakened when a person sits opposite and interrupts, does not allow to say a word. You just say to him several times: “Listen to me,” and in response you see a smirk and this arrogant: “I hear you.” My Caucasian mentality does not allow me to tolerate this.

- Do you think how important this fight has become for his career?

- He himself admitted that this defeat is better for him than victory. A very serious lesson. I think in the future everything will be fine with him. Goncharov is a good fighter.

- Personally, do such episodes help you recharge your emotions or, conversely, are they harmful?

- This interferes. Unfortunately, I have to do this, because this is work. It is necessary to attract attention, to interest the public.

- At the same time, the same Conor McGregor often creates such conflicts himself in order to tune into the battle ...

“I have no respect for him; for me, MacGregor is evil.” Ready to sell my honor for the sake of money, to offend religion.

- After the battle, you shook hands with Goncharov. If you lost, did you do the same anyway?

- Of course. Today I won, tomorrow he can get the better. No need to whine after a fight.

- If Goncharov declares his desire to conduct a rematch, agree?

- No problem. If you need a second duel, then I am ready to hold it. It all depends on the desire of management and the amount in the contract. This is my job. I can fight even with Goncharov, even with more powerful athletes. I’m not going to fight here all my life. But while I am here, I am determined to fight.

- Have you talked about the next fight with ACA management ?

- Not yet. But I have been doing MMA long enough to understand who could be the next contender for the title. He will be determined in the confrontation between Salimgerey Rasulov and Daniel Omelyanchuk.

- Which of them would be more interesting to fight with you personally?

- Does not matter. I respect my possible rivals. Each of them is very strong. In addition, if someone from a pair of Rasulov-Omelyanchuk gets injured, the ACA has someone to replace him with. The organization is the ex-UFC fighter Ruslan Magomedov, Alikhan Vakhaev.

- At the moment, the first place in the ACA heavy weight rating is Omelyanchuk. Will it be an additional motivation for you to speak at the UFC?

- Daniel is a very cool and experienced fighter. But the main thing for me is that we fight in one organization. The fact that he performed in some other promotion does not bother me.

“You said you weren't going to fight at ACA all your life .” Are you already thinking about moving to another organization?

- Not yet, I have a contract with ACA. I already have enough offers, but I need permission from the management and my older brothers. As soon as they say “forward,” I’m ready to glorify the Akhmat club and Russia in any world promotion.

- Many Russian fighters are interested in a career exclusively in the UFC. Would you agree to perform in a smaller caliber promotion?

- The absolute fighting championship is considered the best organization in the whole world, but I do not think that our athletes could not compete on equal terms with its representatives. I think if you put up the top five fighters from the UFC and ACA, then we will win. I give 99.9% that we will win.

- Do you think that you could get the better of UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic?

- Why not. How can you not believe in yourself and continue to fight? The same thing happened with Eugene. I immediately said that I would take the title from him, after which he would have to start all over again. Many people think that this is hype, but the point is confidence.

- At one time, the head of the ACA Mayrbek Khasiev said that he sets himself the task of competing with the UFC. Is it possible?

- In my opinion, he goes to his goal. As long as he has such loyal athletes, everything is possible.

- Recently, Alexander Emelyanenko returned to the Akhmat club, who will fight with Magomed Ismailov in April. Has your attitude to him changed over the past few months?

- Now he is training in our team. If the head of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, considers Emelianenko a decent person, respects him, then I do the same. For me, his word is law.

- Do not consider Emelianenko as a possible adversary?

“As such, I have no desire.” In Russia, there are enough young lions that can give me heat. I don’t want people talking about me just because of this, that I was fighting with someone like Emelianenko.

- At one time you told how you defeated Emelianenko in sparring. After that talked?

“No, but I will definitely meet him.” In a good way, it was not worth talking about what happened between us in training. I acted ugly.

- How do the coaches from Akhmat assess the current state of Emelianenko?

- Let's just say that by the battle with Ismailov he will be in perfect shape. When he walked and drank somewhere, I had doubts about this, but now they have disappeared. Work is in full swing day and night. Coaches will do everything to make him as ready as possible.

- Will Emelianenko manage to meet the requirements of mentors?

- I think yes. He is a man of character. With my own eyes I saw how Alexander jumps a rope for an hour, works with dumbbells. Very hardy athlete.

- If Emelianenko is in perfect shape, Ismailov has no chance?

- Alexander has one drawback. He counts only on shock equipment, does not want to fight. Constantly trying to solve everything in a rack. If Magomed can transfer him to the stalls, then he will win with a probability of 80%. See for yourself, he is not tall, but at the same time speedy and “explosive”. In grappling he will have an advantage. But we are not talking about age. On the floor, Emelianenko can quickly exhale, but on his feet will surpass the opponent.

- In early March, your friend Magomed Ankalaev defeated Ion Kutselaba at the UFC tournament , but the referee's decision caused serious controversy. Was the stop premature?

- Everyone will say that it was so. But I’m sure that if the battle lasted for some more time, Kutselaba would still fall. I just would have received significantly more injuries. At the moment of stopping, he was reeling, he began to invest in blows with all his might. I would have missed it again and would have definitely fallen. Magomed outplayed him in all aspects. I know how strong he is, because he himself worked with him. Against him, you can release three of these Kutselab.

- Tell us more about its preparation.

- I know his coaches Shamil Alibatyrov and Sukhrab Magomedov. They do not spare their athletes. Instead of falling during the battle, their fighters do this during training, but from fatigue. I saw how Ankalaev worked out sparring ten rounds long, after which he downloaded the press without stopping for half an hour. I saw how he vomited due to stress. He is a real plowman.

- In April, Ankalaev will fight with Kutselaba in revenge. What is your forecast?

- 99.9% that Magomed will send him to the ground.