Opposition of styles and a test of endurance: why you can't miss the fight between Ismailov and Shtyrkov at ACA 115

An ambiguous choice

We can say that in Russian mixed martial arts, 2020 passed under the sign of Magomed Ismailov.

At ACA 107, the fighter won the largest victory in his career, defeating Alexander Emelianenko, and gained the status of one of the main stars of domestic MMA.

After the July fight, he multiplied his popularity level, remaining active in the media space and starring in TV series, but at the end of the year he decided to have another landmark fight.

This time, Ivan Shtyrkov, who for a long time remained in full view of a very solid audience of fans, was identified as his rival.

The choice of Shtyrkov as Ismailov's opponent could hardly be called the most obvious.

After the fight with Emelianenko, there were reasons to assume both the organization of a loud revenge with Alexander and an attempt to hold a cash duel with one of the most popular Russian middleweights - Alexander Shlemenko.

This was also indicated by the fact that Magomed himself very often mentioned Storm in his interviews and repeatedly spoke of his desire to fight him.

It was also extremely interesting to see the re-fight with Vladimir Mineev.

In September, he won the joint Fight Nights Global and GFC tournament held in memory of Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov, after which he challenged Ismailov.

Revenge seemed inevitable after they started a skirmish on Match TV.

On paper, the battle between Ismailov and Mineev could claim the title of the loudest in Russian MMA at the moment and promised to bring serious profits to the organizers.

However, the ACA did not attempt to sign Vladimir to one tournament.

Instead, the league made an unexpected decision and invited Shtyrkov to speak.

Confrontation of styles

Yes, from the media point of view, the fight between Ismailov and Shtyrkov is inferior to any of the above.

Despite a successful career in the RCC and a performance in the Japanese Rizin FF, the last two years have not turned out to be the best for Ivan.

At first, he made an unsuccessful attempt to sign a contract with the UFC, which ended with his suspension due to doping, and then faced negative attitude from his native Yekaterinburg fans because of the sensational story with the construction of the temple.

The athlete and other representatives of the RMK martial arts academy were allegedly sent to guard the facility.

Moreover, some media reported that the fighter attacked the protesters, but no evidence was provided for this.

However, if Shtyrkov cannot provide the same level of excitement around the fight with Ismailov as Emelianenko, then he is certainly capable of making him more serious competition.

First of all, this concerns the struggle in which Alexander was never considered a skillful master.

Ivan, in many respects, built his career on a skillful combination of standing and parterre.

And this is not surprising, given that over the past seven years, he became the bronze medalist of the Russian Combat Sambo Championship three times.

Therefore, we can safely say that stylistically Shtyrkov poses a much greater danger to Ismailov, not only in comparison with Emelianenko, but even with Shlemenko and Mineev.

All three emphasize percussion technique and are unlikely to threaten with a transfer to the ground, while Ivan can try to drag Magomed to the canvas and test his grappling skills.

Considering that Ismailov suffered one of the two defeats after a painful hold, this can be quite effective.

In the stand, a slight advantage will most likely be on Ismailov's side.

Firstly, a fight with a left-handed person always harbors a certain discomfort, and secondly, a natural middleweight will certainly have an advantage in speed over a light heavyweight.

Magomed has already demonstrated that the additional 10-13 kg does not prevent him from remaining as mobile as in his native division, and at eight he will be able to work at an even faster pace.

Shtyrkov's Trump

Nevertheless, Shtyrkov still has something, if not to surprise Ismailov, then at least to make his life extremely difficult.

We are talking about the clinch that the Ural Hulk uses so often.

If he has enough power to keep Ismailov at the net for a long time in the first rounds, then by the third, Magomed may noticeably get tired and lose speed.

In general, any successful attempts by Shtyrkov to drag Ismailov into the fight and make him work on his back will bring him closer to success.

Thus, he will not only protect himself from the rapid attacks of Magomed in a stance, but will gradually exhaust him.

Ivan will certainly have an advantage in weight and feel more confident in close contact with an opponent.

The bald predator will have to make additional efforts to break the clinch and go back to the distance.

In the context of endurance, it is worth paying special attention to the format of the battle.

Despite the status of the main fight of the evening, it will not be a five-round match, but will last only 15 minutes.

On paper, this can make the duel more dynamic, but in reality, it makes it less likely to end early.

During the press conference, both opponents suggested that they would cover the entire distance.

And such a development of events seems quite possible.

It is difficult to predict unambiguously who would benefit from a five-round bout.

On the one hand, Ismailov was already experiencing serious difficulties when he had to fight for 25 minutes.

In the course of the battle with Mineev, he was seriously tired by the end of the second segment, and he did not spend the second half of the battle at all.

Shtyrkov has no experience of such protracted confrontations.

Effects

Regardless of how the duel between Ismailov and Shtyrkov develops, its outcome will have a major impact on the career of both one and the other.

For Ismailov, this is an opportunity to confirm the status of the main MMA star in Russia and receive, possibly, the last major contract in his career.

It's no secret that his current agreement with the ACA expires at the end of this tournament, and negotiations on a new one directly depend on the result of the duel with Ivan.

If Ismailov wins, he will not only be able to sign a new contract on more attractive terms, but also try his hand at other promotions.

For example, return to Fight Night Global for a loud revenge with Mineev, which the ACA is not eager to organize.

Do not exclude the possibility of a return fight with Emelianenko, a superfight with Shlemenko, or a return fight with Anatoly Tokov.

However, the latter seems to be the least likely, since the Fedor Team representative plays at Bellator and is one of the main contenders for the title.

Defeat instantly lowers Ismailov from "space" to earth and deprives him of the opportunity to put forward his conditions both in terms of contracts and in terms of preferred opponents.

Magomed himself perfectly understands this, therefore, on the eve of the show, he is under enormous pressure.

He himself spoke about this both in an interview with RT and at the final press conference before ACA 115, during which he urged fans not to consider him a favorite.

As for Shtyrkov, this fight will demonstrate whether the whole hype that surrounded his person over the past four years was justified.

After his victory over Antonio Silva in November 2016, many called him the rising Russian MMA star and the new Fedor Emelianenko, but since then he has not been able to meet such high expectations.

The short period of performances in Rizin did not provoke an increase in popularity, and the situation with the UFC and the defeat by Yasubei Enomoto made many disillusioned with the Ural Hulk.

For Shtyrkov, the victory over Ismailov will be the largest in his career and will prove that he is able to achieve serious success outside his native RCC.

It is unlikely that he will immediately gain the same popularity as his rival, but he will certainly regain his lost position and become one of the main stars of MMA in Russia.

After that, you can think about signing a longer contract with the ACA and a hike for the light heavyweight title.

To strengthen his star status, Ivan does not hurt to win the first belt in his career.

And if the division up to 92 kg does not seem the most attractive in terms of names, it can always rise to the most prestigious category.

There are prospects to meet with ex-UFC fighters Daniel Omelyanchuk and Ruslan Magomedov, as well as reigning champion Tony Johnson.