“Coronavirus thwarted many plans”: Shlemenko on negotiations with the UFC, conversation with Emelianenko and prudence of Nurmagomedov

"Emelyanenko parted friends"

- How do you keep the quarantined form?

- Fortunately, I do not need to run through the parks, because I live on the outskirts of Omsk, right next to my house there is a forest. I think that physically I can’t infect anyone. For the rest I train on the street, conduct general physical training, and practice on horizontal bars and uneven bars. In short, I keep myself in shape.

- Are there any significant differences from the usual training process?

- Of course. Under normal conditions, I would study in the hall. And now I'm just doing general exercises. In fact, it is not so difficult. And special devices are not required. You could just say summer came a little earlier. Often, this period of the year has time without fights, a certain off-season. And so it’s warm with us. And in Omsk the situation with coronavirus is not as serious as in Moscow.

- It is unrealistic to maintain a form in such conditions?

“I would not say that.” Maintaining a form is much easier than typing it from scratch. Judging by the volume of exercises that I perform, I am in a normal state. I pull myself up, run as usual. It will not be so difficult to get the conditions necessary for battles.

- In late March, after the outbreak of the pandemic, Alexander Emelianenko tried to challenge you to battle. Is such a fight possible in the future?

- I called Alexander and we discussed everything with him. We settled on the fact that this fight will not take place. We have nothing to share. Parted friends. And what will happen in the future, I do not know. Anything can happen, I can’t speak for others. But definitely such a meeting could be interesting. "Shlemenko against Emelianenko" is a cool poster that even goes beyond Russia. But it seems to me that such a fight is unlikely to take place, especially according to the rules of boxing. I have slightly different plans. I am moving towards the UFC.

“I want to reach the mark of one hundred victories in my professional career”

- You have been negotiating with the promotion for the past few months. Coronavirus pandemic prevented you from signing a contract?

- I will not hide, COVID-19 thwarted a lot of plans for me and threw it back for six months. In April, I was scheduled to fight with American Louis Taylor as part of the RCC 8 tournament, which I was actively preparing for. Now the process has stalled.

- If not for the pandemic, in the near future should have signed a contract with the UFC ?

- No, but it all went to that. Still, such negotiations are not a quick process. In addition, I am different from the young fighters. They usually agree to a standard contract, take what they give. It's harder with me. We have to negotiate, look for common ground. It takes time. Still, I am a person with a certain reputation, and not a beginner who needs to write his story.

- When could they sign a contract with the UFC , if a pandemic?

- I’ll say as it is: we had a dialogue built, but first I had to finish the story with Taylor. The fight was supposed to take place on April 25th. After that, we were going to return to the conversation with the UFC and conduct a more substantive discussion. Now the promotion, of course, is not up to me. They don’t understand how to conduct tournaments at all. You have to start all over again.

- When could they tentatively hold the first fight in the UFC ?

- I don’t want to run ahead, but I planned to do it already in the fall, and maybe earlier. Much would depend on the outcome of the meeting with Taylor. I suppose that everything would turn out well, the rest could only become a formality.

- It turns out that the promotion went to meet you on all issues?

- Personally, I’m not negotiating with him. This is done by my manager Alexei Zhernakov. According to him, everything is going fine. It is clear that the title fight will not be given right away, but it does not interest me. Honestly, I want to reach the mark of one hundred victories in my professional career. I currently have 59 of them.

- Are you not afraid of a pandemic to lose time and lose your last chance to sign an agreement with the UFC ?

- Of course not. If he were afraid of something, he simply would not start this story, would not conduct negotiations. And if you look at my weight category, the average age of the top fighters there is quite high. The same Joel Romero - 43. Compared to him, I am in my 35 far not an age athlete.

- Aren't you afraid that you have to go for the title too long?

- It all depends on your style. Let's remember Jorge Masvidalya. Where was he before the fight with Ben Askren, to his crazy knee? He was long considered a decommissioned pilot. But one single match changed everything. A special belt was even invented for him! He turned into a superstar in just two fights - with Askren and Nate Diaz. But Masvidal at one time fought with our Rustam Khabilov and lost to him. Could you then assume that the American will fly to the top?

And for a long time those who fight for every point and win on a thin one advance to the title. They rarely close the show program. And they are not just put there. One must be Khabib Nurmagomedov in order to gain popularity by acting in a similar vein. He used to be mostly in the undercard. Nevertheless, Habib caught the “chip” and began to fight more spectacularly. MMA is so attractive because some fighters make fans say “wow”. You have to surprise the audience.

“The fight with Ferguson Habib is not needed now” 

- How do you feel about the idea of ​​holding a UFC  249 tournament in the USA at the height of a pandemic?

- I will call her excellent. Just imagine what will happen if the promotion manages to host the tournament. They will attract the attention of the whole planet! Now no one is able to do this, but the UFC can do it. After all, everyone really missed the sport, major events. People are waiting for them. And the UFC can not only “cut down” the big jackpot in the ranking, but also gain a lot of new fans. This is a crucial historical moment for them.

- At the same time, Alexey Oleinik will become the only representative of Russia in the tournament. No idea what could be in his place?

“I'll tell you more.” If I were now in the USA, then with a high degree of probability I could play at one of the next tournaments. Indeed, the promotion now has a problem with foreign fighters. Air traffic between countries is closed, and many are at home. This was also spoken by Dana White. At the moment, the UFC is hard to organize good fights, they can not pick up interesting pairs. Therefore, those guys who stayed in the USA were very lucky. The same applies to Oleinik. Look, he immediately got into a fight with Fabrizio Werdum.

- What do you expect from the fight between Tony Ferguson and Justin Gatzy?

- One can say for sure that this confrontation will turn out to be extremely interesting. Two very serious fighters will come to the “cage”, who will burn with the desire to knock out each other. At first I thought that Gatgy had a certain chance of victory, but now I am inclined to believe that Ferguson will prevail. At the same time, it is impossible to call him an unequivocal favorite. Justin is a knockout man, and the knockouters always have a chance, such fighters are dangerous for anyone. If you are not able to put your opponent on the flooring with one blow, then the situation is more complicated. You can “lie down” it, but you can not cope with the task.  

- On April 19, Ferguson was supposed to meet with Nurmagomedov, but their fight did not take place again. Tony accused the Russian of cowardice.

- Habib has always been a calculating fighter. He never rushed into a fight without calculating all the pros and cons. But I can’t blame him for cowardice. Nurmagomedov is a champion. Why would he take a chance? In addition, he drives too serious weight. Imagine what would happen if Habib dropped him and the fight was canceled. This is a huge stress for the body. He does not need a fight with Ferguson now, the Dagestan does not want to take risks, and he is doing the right thing. Now he will calmly look at the confrontation between Tony and Gatzy and will simply meet with the winner. And if Nurmagomedov wins, no one will remember his departure from the United States. This is his career.

“Do you think Ferguson and Habib will still fight, or is this really a damned confrontation?”

“I won't call him damned.” But if Tony loses now, this fight can be forgotten forever. And if Ferguson wins, he will confirm that he is the perfect rival for Khabib. In such a situation, organizing a fight between Nurmagomedov and someone else will simply be wrong.