- You have successfully debuted with
ONE
FC.
What are your impressions of the first tournament in the new organization?
- The most striking thing is victory.
It ended quickly.
A lot of work has been done before this fight.
By this time, the break in performances was a year and four months, so I was really looking forward to the opportunity to fight again.
In addition, I was eager to try my hand at world-class promotion.
In the end, he came out, took over.
Moreover, he had the opportunity to share the success with his brother.
He flew with me to Singapore, but my beloved and my son were not allowed in due to the coronavirus.
- Everyone already knows how fighters are admitted to
UFC
tournaments and Russian promotions in a pandemic. How does this process work at
ONE
FC?
- Upon arrival, you are quarantined, they take two tests for COVID-19.
If both are clean, then on the fourth or fifth day they release an hour to practice, they are allowed to swim in the pool for 40 minutes. In addition, it becomes possible to see their seconds.
From now on, you can at least move from room to room.
In general, everything is pretty strict.
You can't really get out anywhere.
It remains to look out of the window at Singapore.
- Is it also difficult to get to the stadium?
- Nearly.
They drive you and the seconds into a separate bus.
No one else is allowed into it.
In the arena itself, everything is fenced.
God forbid who will come to you.
We spent a duel of glances at a distance of a kilometer.
I looked at Machado through binoculars, I thought he was not him
(laughs)
.
But in principle, I was ready for such conditions.
I am very glad that tournaments are generally held at such a time.
There is an opportunity to beat and earn extra money.
- They also say that
ONE
FC is very strict about the formation of weight categories and weight reduction.
Can you tell us more?
“I’m a heavyweight, so I didn’t feel it to the fullest.
Before the tournament, they take a urine test twice and check how much salt and other substances you have in your body.
If something is missing, then you are simply not admitted.
A guy was standing next to me and he was told to drink water.
He asked: “How is the water?
Then I won't have any weight. "
- What did they say to him?
- They said that they can move to another weight class.
But it will enter the cell only with the required percentage of water in the body.
They take this very seriously there.
I was immediately asked: “Heavy weight?
Then everything is clear.
It's easy for you. "
But the “muhachas” are probably much more difficult.
In the hotel, a fighter lived with me in the next room.
So, on the eve of the weigh-in, he jumped rope all night.
He will work for half an hour, and will rest again.
Maybe the weight was dropping.
Personally, I think this is a little bit wrong.
On the other hand, taking care of the health of athletes.
- I had to read that there is a rather strict system. In preparation for the tournament, a fighter must regularly weigh himself and send his data to the promotion, and there, based on them, they will decide in which division he should play ...
- I didn't have that.
Perhaps because I'm a heavyweight.
And so, the issues of weight are very strict.
My friend Abu Muslim (Alikhanov.
- RT
) said that he once drove to featherweight (in ONE FC the limit of this division is 70.3 kilograms, an analogue of the lightweight in other promotions.
- RT
), so 80% was taken from him for this fee.
He received a penny for the fight.
At the same time he said: “Take it, at least everything.
I will fight in 70 kilograms. "
- As far as we know, the tournament took place on February 26, but was shown in the recording only on March 5. Is this your first such experience?
- Of course.
I originally thought there would be a live broadcast.
It is more interesting all the same: everyone is worried, watching.
And when you know the result ...
- What was it like for a whole week to know that you have just won your first victory in a major overseas promotion, but not be able to share it with the fans?
- ONE FC obliges you to sign documents on non-disclosure of the result.
But you yourself understand that it is impossible to hide it.
Everyone starts calling: dad, mom.
And if you tell your grandmother, then half of Kemerovo will know.
She also mastered the Internet.
So yes, many knew that I fought on February 26th.
But it's even better for me.
I returned to the city, my friend Vladimir gathered in the hall the children who are worried about me.
As the broadcast ended, I went out to them.
It was a surprise for them.
We thought I was fighting, but I’m already here.
At the same time, I understand the decision of the promotion.
This saves them money.
Renting a huge stadium is expensive.
At the same time, on the first floor, they contain a whole hospital, rent buses and everything else.
Of course, it is more convenient for them to hold three tournaments and then show them on record.
- In the end, who was the first to be told about the outcome of the fight with Machado?
- To my wife, of course.
She is always sure of my victory, but she is still very worried.
And then to mom, dad, grandmother.
It is noteworthy that some acquaintances did not want to ask about the result of the battle or congratulate them, but to earn extra money.
They said: "Hey, bro, where can I make a bet?"
He replied that nowhere, since the fight is being broadcast on record.
“It seemed like you didn't even sweat during the battle. Was it the easiest fight of your career?
- It only seems so.
I was very worried before the fight, because shortly before it had had a coronavirus, I was in intensive care.
I did not tell anyone about this, but when I arrived in Thailand, I decided to climb the mountain.
Previously, I ran on it in 15 minutes, but this time it took me about an hour.
He constantly stopped, and part of the distance walked altogether.
Add to this the almost one and a half year downtime.
Therefore, he was also worried whether he was rusted or not.
However, I felt that I was very well prepared for the fight.
After all, during all this time I did not give myself slack: I trained twice a day, watched my diet, did not allow myself too much.
- What about the fight itself?
- Machado is very strong.
Knew he would fight to the end.
In general, I initially wanted to work with him in a stance, breathe, move.
But he himself went into the fight.
I don't know if he doesn't have YouTube in Brazil, or if he didn't watch my previous fights.
Where did he get at my feet?
What is Brazilian Jiu Jitsu?
(laughs)
Yes, you can say that I'm not tired.
But this is only because he was in his element.
Plus, he set himself up before the fight.
I told myself that if I can lose to Machado, who is not in the top ten heavyweights, then what is the point in hoping to beat someone from the top.
It was with these thoughts that I entered the cage.
- MMA fans were aware that your opponent is a former contender for the
ONE
FC light heavyweight title.
But less sophisticated fans were probably surprised that the undefeated Russian was given a kind of "bag" as rivals.
Did you get similar feedback from fans?
- No, that was not the case.
I may have a small audience, but versed in mixed martial arts.
In the end, I only finished him off for about a minute and a half.
Machado's skin bursts, but he still resists.
Black Belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
What kind of bag is he?
- I think many are interested in understanding where training for a specific opponent ends and improvisation begins and the intellect of the fighter himself manifests itself. What did you work out in advance on the eve of this confrontation?
- I don't like doing this.
Yes, in freestyle wrestling, I still practiced this: I honed some specific technique.
And I like MMA because your preparations rarely help here.
It is necessary that your head is constantly working, starting from a specific situation: where your opponent is climbing, what he comes up with.
Therefore, I prefer to do without specific plans for the battle.
As soon as you miss a serious blow, you have to start all over again.
- Russia recently lost one of its champions in the top promotions - Peter Yang was disqualified and lost the
UFC bantamweight belt to Aljemein Sterling
.
What are your impressions of the fight?
- Peter just destroyed Aljamein, mocked him.
And this knee situation will only do him good.
If he had simply taken apart Sterling, then it would not have been so much talked about.
And now there is a fuss, and everyone is on Yang's side.
To be honest, the knee kick was not bad, it kicked in well.
- Is the decision to disqualify Yan fair?
- In my opinion, if the fight had been declared invalid, then there would have been no problems.
Besides, I don't think it is right that Sterling did this with the trophy.
People have been shedding sweat for years for him, and you throw it on the floor.
If I were Aljamein, I wouldn’t do this, and then I met Peter in the locker room, put a belt on him and said: “It turned out the way it happened.
If everything goes well, in revenge I will take it from you. "
It would be a very smart move on the part of the American.
But he acted differently.
So Ian will kick his ass even harder in the return match.
- Do you doubt Jan's success?
- Petya is a beast, a Siberian, a real gangster.
In my opinion, now there is not a single fighter of his level.
He will be a champion for a long time.
Plus, it seems to me that in this battle, Yang appeared in an imperfect form.
Perhaps the American Top Team is not his place.
We train in the same gym, and I saw him in much better condition.
- Do you think TJ Dillashaw and Henry Sehudo will not be able to oppose anything to Peter?
- Dillashaw is a downed pilot.
This is not Yang's level.
As for Sehudo, I think Petya will look better at a distance and will win a rather easy victory.
- Returning to the duel itself at
UFC 259, there is a version that the command to beat Jan was given his corners.
Do you yourself often turn to your team in such situations?
- A lot depends on the corners.
They see what the fighter cannot see.
Therefore, the seconds must fight, give prompts.
If they really told him to knee, then this is a minus.
Otherwise, it's okay.
Ian just thought Sterling had risen, so he hit.
This happens a lot in MMA.
And in the same ONE FC you can generally score with your knees - it doesn't matter if your opponent touches the ground with four or five points.
- After the fight, many suspected Sterling of the simulation. They said that he could allegedly continue the fight, but played along and thus took the belt. Don't you think it's a little disrespectful to blame such a fighter who has just received an illegal knee blow to the temple?
- They mock him not because of this.
People are perplexed by the fact that quite recently he threw the trophy to the ground, and some time later he stands at the bar with a polished belt on his shoulder.
- In fact, Sterling was accused of refusing to continue the battle, during which he missed a knockout forbidden blow. How logical was it for him to continue the fight in such a state, because he was clearly not feeling the best?
- In his place, Peter would have continued to fight.
But Americans have a different mentality.
To some extent, I understand him: such blows take a lot of energy and strength.
Sterling had the right to end the fight and took advantage of it.
You just didn't have to do it like that.
You just had to sit down and say: "There was a forbidden strike, I cannot fight further."
In my opinion, the situation around Sterling escalated precisely after his photographs appeared in a bar by the pool.
At first it did not bother me, but later I realized that I could not be on his side.
- I think many fighters projected this situation onto themselves in one way or another. What would you do if you were Sterling if you got hit like this against Stipe Miocic for the
UFC title
?
- It is very difficult.
I can't know how shocked Sterling was.
If the blow was really strong, and you see double in your eyes, then it is impossible to continue.
If the damage was small, then it is worth fighting further.
Judging by the video, Ian hit very well.
I know many people later posted photos that Aljemain allegedly managed to put his hand, but this is all nonsense.
He did it after.
- To summarize, who is right in this situation?
- If according to the boy's rules, then Jan.
However, the UFC rules are on Sterling's side.
But if I were in the place of Dana White and the judges, I would have declared the fight invalid and would not have crowned Aljamein.