Rematch with Ismailov or transition to boxing: what to expect from Emelianenko after defeat at ACA 107

After the end of ACA 107, one of the main questions was the future of Alexander Emelianenko. The defeat by Magomed Ismailov completed a successful stage in his career and destroyed the myth of the invincibility of the athlete, who had dealt with almost every vis-a-vis in the past two years. In this regard, some have suggested that the fiasco in the battle with the Bald Predator may well provoke the departure of the PRIDE veteran from the sport.

It must be understood that for Emelianenko, the failure in the battle with Ismailov became truly discouraging. The ex-ProFC champion not only lost for the first time in six years. The heavyweight lost to an opponent who had never fought in this weight category and was much inferior to him in size. This fact can cause an athlete to lose confidence.

It is also important that throughout the fight, Emelianenko looked absolutely helpless. In the past, opponents have repeatedly used his gaps in wrestling technique, but in the battle with Ismailov this was especially obvious. If the same Tony Johnson, Jr. allowed Alexander to occasionally rise and please with bright moments in the stand, then Magomed deprived him of that too. As soon as the PRIDE veteran was on the floor, his position became extremely difficult, and there was no question of trying to get to his feet.

In addition, Emelianenko lost to Ismailov not only in the fight, but also in the stand. On the eve of the fight, many experts praised Alexander's striking technique, paying attention to the speed of his hands and knockout power. But during the battle, all this was not noticeable. Magomed was sharper in exchanges and almost knocked his opponent down.

On the eve of the tournament, Ismailov called the defeat from Magomed Malikov the most difficult in Emelianenko's career. At that time, Alexander did not take his counterpart seriously and ended up being knocked out after 23 seconds. But if then he quickly recovered and after a month returned to the cage, this time the pause may be prolonged. The main reason is that nine years ago, the athlete was not even close to as popular as today.

Over the past year, Emelianenko has become one of the most famous domestic representatives of MMA and a coveted rival for many Russian martial arts stars. During this time, it was talked about his possible fights with Alexander Shlemenko, Sergey Kharitonov, Vladimir Mineev and even with ex-world boxing champion Rakhim Chakhkiev. Many were ready to challenge the eminent heavyweight, because they were confident that this battle would be not only loud, but also money. Suffice it to recall that the same Ismailov demanded a fee of 15 million rubles for a meeting with him.

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Publication from ACA MMA (@aca_mma) Jul 24, 2020 2:19 am PDT

Now the state of affairs may change markedly. No, defeat will not lead to the fact that Emelianenko will again receive modest money for the fight. He will certainly remain among the highest paid athletes in the domestic MMA, but the changes are irreversible. If earlier almost every promoter was ready to organize a duel for Alexander with any opponent and offer a fee that suits him, now the offers may not be so generous.

True, we must admit that Emelianenko had never chased large fees before. Unlike many colleagues in the profession, the main thing for him was to perform and be able to show the spectacle in the octagon. Proof of this is the situation around his revenge with Kharitonov. As you know, it was Sergey who initially put forward more than serious requirements for the contract and subsequently announced his intention to receive $ 1 million for the fight with Alexander. At the same time, the ex-ProFC champion himself agreed to fight even before money was discussed.

After the failure in the fight with Ismailov, some fans suggested that Emelianenko would hang up his gloves on a nail. But such a development of the situation seems unlikely. Largely for the reason that this defeat was far from the first for him. Alexander yielded before, and often more offensively. The knockout in the battle with Mirko Filipovic in 2004 stands apart here. Then he was at the peak of popularity and, along with his older brother, was considered one of the brightest heavyweights in the world, but a missed high-kick changed the course of his career forever.

In addition, Emelianenko has long been performing not for the sake of trophies or heritage. He fought his only title fight in 2010 at ProFC, when he knocked out Eddie Bengtsson in 48 seconds. Subsequently, he traveled through the promotions, not staying in any of them longer than four bouts in a row. Perhaps in 2012 he could have counted on the M-1 Global belt, but his successful streak was interrupted by Jeff Monson.

Thus, over the past at least seven years, Emelianenko has been fighting solely for the sake of earning money and love of sports. One gets the feeling that he does not see himself in something other than martial arts. Therefore, the athlete regularly returns to the cage, despite the defeat and difficulties in his personal life. There is practically no doubt that he will pass through this test, as the fighter himself said after the duel with Ismailov.

Therefore, the main question is not whether Emelianenko will return, but where and when the next fight with his participation will take place. Perhaps this will happen in the battle with Kharitonov. It is very likely that such a weak performance of the counterpart, coupled with a desire to avenge the fiasco of 14 years ago, will force Sergei to moderate his appetites and sign a contract on more modest terms.

At the same time, it should not be ruled out that Emelianenko will decide to take a break from mixed martial arts. At ACA 107, he once again showed that he did not intend to progress in wrestling technique, and after that he again indicated his negative attitude towards this aspect of MMA.

“In none of the rounds did I feel any danger from him. Everything he could do, he did. Unlike Ismailov, I wanted to fight. Thought he was a man and would marry his honor. And Maga, like everyone else, throws himself at his feet and saves himself with what he can ... Everyone wanted to see a colorful and spectacular fight, but Ismailov was afraid to fight. He created the appearance of a fight, "- quoted by Emelianenko Vseprosport.

Of course, most MMA fans love to watch the exchange of punches in a standing position, but the importance of wrestling cannot be underestimated. Since the inception of mixed martial arts, this aspect was considered the most important, which is confirmed by the results of the first tournaments of the Absolute Fighting Championship. It is not for nothing that at the dawn of the promotion, specialists in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (Royce Gracie) and classical wrestling (Dan Severn) dominated. Oleg Taktarov also worked mainly on the ground, which brought him success at UFC 6.

If you look at the current UFC pound-for-pound rating, then the first three lines are also occupied by ground work specialists. Despite the excellent striking technique, both John Jones and Stipe Miocic are basic fighters, and Khabib Nurmagomedov is considered one of the standards in this respect. Drummers such as Conor McGregor, Dustin Poirier and Peter Jan are also working on grappling.

Their examples show that in the modern world of MMA it is almost impossible to achieve success by concentrating solely on the stand. Perhaps Emelianenko himself understands this, and therefore wants to fight Mineev according to the rules of boxing. In this case, he can not worry about missed takedowns and show his striking technique. True, Vladimir himself is a basic kickboxer and is unlikely to decide to transfer Alexander to the ground, even if the duel will be held according to the rules of mixed martial arts.

It should not be ruled out that the boxing match with Mineev is only the first of a series of fights that Emelianenko will hold outside of his native sport. Subsequently, he may well arrange a revenge with Mikhail Koklyaev or try himself in boxing without gloves. As Alexander himself said, last year he received offers from Bare Knuckle FC and was very close to moving into overseas promotion.

At the same time, it cannot be ruled out that Emelianenko still decides to stay in MMA. As Magomed himself admitted, immediately after the end of the battle, Alexander invited him to meet again in the cage. Given the excitement around the first fight, there is hardly any doubt that revenge is able to gather an even larger audience and once again become one of the most anticipated events in Russian mixed martial arts. The only problem is the contracts and desires of the athletes themselves.

Ismailov has already announced that he does not intend to compete in the heavyweight division anymore and would like to continue his career in his native middle category. Yes, he did not put an end to the prospects of a return battle with Emelianenko and made it clear that he would only be interested in a very large fee. Whether the ACA leadership will accept this is a very big question. The management of the promotion is not famous for throwing money down the drain, and will offer big money only if it is sure of the correctness of such a step.