Magomed Ismailov defeated Ivan Shtyrkov at the ACA 115 tournament. For the triumphant, this fight was the last one under the current contract with ACA, which opens up quite broad prospects for him.

Rematch with Emelianenko

At first glance, this option for continuing Magomed Ismailov's career seems quite logical.

The first fight between Ismailov and Alexander Emelianenko became the most talked about event of the year in MMA Russia.

However, the full potential of this fight was prevented by the pandemic, due to which the ACA was unable to hold the tournament in the presence of fans and lost a substantial part of the profit.

The show could only be viewed in PPV (pay-per-view) format, which hardly had a positive effect on the financial side of the issue.

In 2021, there is an excellent opportunity to correct this misunderstanding and extract much larger dividends from the battle between Ismailov and Emelianenko.

It is hoped that over time, the situation with the coronavirus will be resolved, as a result of which the audience will return to the stands.

Thus, the ACA will have a real incentive to take revenge.

In this case, the choice remains with the fighters themselves, but there is every reason to believe that both are unlikely to oppose.

At least this can be said about Ismailov, who expressed his willingness to fight with Emelianenko.

First, he stated this in an interview with RT, and then confirmed it at a press conference after defeating Shtyrkov.

As Magomed admitted, after the fight with Ivan, he intends to meet with Alexander and discuss the current situation.

Given the warm relationship between the rivals, they will certainly be able to come to an agreement.

Return duel with Mineev

Nevertheless, at the moment, the most discussed is another revenge with the participation of Ismailov.

We are talking about the fight with Vladimir Mineev, which became one of the loudest and most scandalous in 2018.

Then the duel lasted all 25 minutes, after which the judges made an extremely controversial decision and declared a draw.

And this despite the fact that Ismailov was noticeably tired by the end of the second five-minute period, and in the remaining three he looked noticeably weaker.

Even attempts to clarify the situation on the part of the chief arbiter of the tournament, Yuri Batman and Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov, did not help to reduce the degree of tension.

The first of them argued that the third segment was equal, and the second expressed the opinion that the ex-world kickboxing champion, although he won three rounds, repeatedly violated the rules and deserved a yellow card.

It is worth noting that the confrontation between Ismailov and Mineev was remembered not only for the fierce battle in the cage, but also for insults from Vladimir and several fights, one of which took place on vacation in Turkey.

Magomed tried to find out the relationship with his counterpart in the hotel lobby, as a result of which a fight ensued.

At the moment, we can safely say that it will be difficult for Ismailov to find a more dangerous opponent than Mineev in Russia.

And from both a psychological and a sports point of view.

Even before the fight, Vladimir will try to exhaust his opponent mentally, and in the cage he will have an excellent chance to win by knockout.

Especially if the battle drags on again until the fifth round.

Even in the fight with Shtyrkov, Magomed began to experience serious problems with endurance and in the third round he was frankly tired.

And this despite the fact that the pace was not the highest.

An indirect hint of a possible organization of a revenge is the appearance at the last tournament of Amir Muradov and Kamil Hajiyev, the owner and president of Fight Nights Global, respectively.

It was under the auspices of this promotion that the first fight took place, and most likely only there there is an opportunity to arrange a second.

The ACA leadership has repeatedly spoken about the lack of interest in this duel, and other organizations are unlikely to be able to pull a fight of this magnitude.

The question is whether Ismailov himself is interested in this.

Earlier, he has repeatedly said that he does not want to meet again with Mineev in the cage, which he once again confirmed after the victory over Shtyrkov.

Perhaps, the record fee or the persuasion of his friend Muradov can convince him.

Superfight with Shlemenko

However, in Russia there is still one fighter who can become for Ismailov no less, and perhaps even more serious test than Mineev.

Currently, Alexander Shlemenko is in the status of a free agent, but continues to closely follow the performances of his colleagues, in particular, Magomed.

The first Russian champion Bellator never ruled out the possibility of a fight with the Bald Predator, and after ACA 115 he called it the most logical decision.

“I can see his weak points.

I sit, do not speak, but he speaks and shows them to me.

I have no desire to get up and knock out a fight with Maga.

If we manage to organize a fight with him, we will fight.

If it doesn't work out, we won't fight.

Who else is the Mage to fight with?

The more the Magician wins, the more he will run into our confrontation with him, ”Shlemenko said in a conversation with journalist Alexander Lyutikov.

It's hard to disagree here.

At the moment, Shlemenko is the most stellar of the Russian middleweights, open to performances in domestic promotions.

The same Anatoly Tokov and Omari Akhmedov, although they are in the best shape, do not have such a status.

In addition, both have active contracts with Bellator and the UFC, which prevents them from fighting at home.

Based on a number of factors, the battle with Shlemenko suits Ismailov much more than the battle with Mineev.

Firstly, although Alexander is not shy in expressions, he is unlikely to offend and humiliate the opponent, as a result of which the promotion of the fight will take place in a more friendly atmosphere.

This will not only benefit Magomed, but can also become a key factor for him in the course of choosing an opponent.

Previously, he admitted that he no longer wants to experience emotions similar to those that were before his battle with Vladimir.

In terms of style, Shlemenko is a very difficult opponent for Ismailov.

He has excellent striking technique and knockout blow, which qualitatively distinguishes him from the same Shtyrkov.

In addition, he will not be inferior in speed and will most likely be superior in endurance.

The only problem is that Alexander does not defend himself well against takedowns, as a result of which Magomed will have the opportunity to quite often find himself in his element.

The question is if he can keep Storm on the ground.

There is also every reason to believe that this duel can be held under the auspices of both the ACA and Fight Nights Global.

Yes, Shlemenko has not yet played in the Absolute Championship Akhmat, but in general he meets the requirements of the promotion.

At least in terms of attitudes towards trash-current.

And given the scale of the battle, Mairbek Khasiev and Alexei Yatsenko have every reason to offer him an impressive contract.

At the same time, Hajiyev has already indicated his intention to hold the next Shlemenko fight in FNG.

Back in November, he announced that the promotion plans to start negotiations with the ex-Bellator champion, and by that time he could have made progress on this issue.

Moving to

EFC

In the course of communication with the media after the end of ACA 115, Ismailov also did not rule out that he could continue performing in Khabib Nurmagomedov's promotion.

Most recently, the reigning UFC lightweight champion became the owner of the Eagles Fighting Championship and will soon be trying to draw attention to the organization by inviting high-profile athletes.

However, even though Ismailov said that he was ready to go to EFC if he received an invitation, such a prospect is hard to believe.

At least when status fights with Shlemenko, Mineev and Emelianenko are looming on the horizon.

Nurmagomedov's organization is unlikely to be able to conduct battles of this scale in the very near future, if at all intend to move in this direction.

Khabib himself actually stated that his promotion would become a springboard for Russians wishing to break into the UFC.

Therefore, it is worth waiting for talented and young fighters there rather than already promoted and age ones.

As for the distant future, this cooperation is quite possible.

During this time, the EFC can acquire a more serious status, and Ismailov will have time to conduct a couple more cash and landmark battles.

Perhaps by this time Nurmagomedov will decide to change the format a little and will pay more attention to inviting stars, able to provide excitement around the tournament and attract fans to the stands.