Successful experiment: Ismailov defeated Durodola by unanimous decision in his debut fight under boxing rules

Ismailov's dangerous adventure

The participation of MMA fighters in fights according to the rules of boxing has long been commonplace.

The path trodden several years ago by Conor McGregor, who in 2017 was not afraid to fight Floyd Mayweather, was followed by a number of his colleagues, including Anderson Silva, Vitor Belfort, Frank Mir, Mark Hunt, Tyron Woodley and Ben Askren.

The trend did not bypass Russia either: two eminent veterans fought in the ring at once - Sergey Kharitonov and Alexander Emelianenko.

However, the decision of Magomed Ismailov to follow their example came as a big surprise.

First, the Bald Predator is a basic wrestler and has trouble with punching techniques.

Secondly, his endurance leaves much to be desired, which was confirmed by the revenge lost in October with Vladimir Mineev.

Thirdly, the domestic athlete was chosen the most difficult opponent.

Olanrewaju Durodola is 14 cm taller and has a much larger arm span.

Although the Nigerian has exchanged his fifth decade, he is a boxer of a very high class.

A year and a half ago, he fought for the WBC light heavyweight title and was defeated by Ilunga Makabu.

And Russian fans should remember him well for the confrontation with Dmitry Kudryashov in 2015.

Then the African in Kazan sensationally sent the previously unbeaten Russian to a brutal knockout in the second round.

Two years later, he lost to him in a rematch in Rostov-on-Don, and then lost to Maxim Vlasov in Sochi.

Despite the high level of the opponent, Ismailov did not lose confidence in himself and actively prepared for the fight.

In particular, he even had a training session with Konstantin Tszyu.

Magomed, in his usual manner, promised the guest a "street felling".

“I'm not hiding - I'm worried.

But I never let anxiety consume me—I end up eating it.

Therefore, now the mood is already more combative.

I've been boxing all my life.

Masters of sports, international wrestlers constantly come to our gym, and I box with them.

In MMA, I show a slightly clumsy technique, as it prepares my entry into the fight, but I purely box with boxers, and my technique is different from the one I demonstrate in MMA, ”Sports.ru quotes the athlete.

Only the same weight shown at the weigh-in ceremony gave him certain chances, and the format of the fight was four rounds of three minutes each.

The scandalous end of the battle

No less interesting was the confrontation between the famous pop-MMA fighter Maxim Topor Shcherbakov and former coach Albert Karmazyan.

A month ago, the athlete lost by knockout to Maxim Novoselov, which caused an angry reaction from his mentor.

He accused the ward of surrendering the fight and in the locker room struck him a series of blows.

Everything that happened was captured by the CCTV cameras.

The athlete at first announced his desire to write a statement to the police about the specialist, but then he called him to a bare-knuckle fight in order to avenge the insult inflicted in the cage.

However, this was not possible.

The much taller and lighter Karmazyan turned out to be stronger as a boxer.

Shcherbakov, as expected, made a bet on the active beginning and, with a gong, literally rushed forward with his head down.

He managed to shock his opponent and even leave a cut on his cheekbone.

But the Ax itself received serious eye damage.

Yes, and the forces quickly left him.

Now the coach calmly “failed” the counterpart and kept him at a safe distance with the help of long arms.

In the second round, Maxim finally ran out of steam and moved around the ring with great difficulty, taking on a large number of blows.

They did not risk the health of the fighter in his corner and announced the withdrawal.

Karmazyan won a landslide victory, but most importantly, after the end of the fight, he shook hands with his former ward.

The conflict between them was over.

In the co-main battle of the evening, Mark Petrovsky and Collins Oyal met.

For the 23-year-old 2021 world heavyweight champion, there was a debut in the professional ring.

At first, excitement was felt in his actions, but gradually the native of Minusinsk calmed down and seized the advantage.

He methodically dismantled the Kenyan by “floors” and carried out powerful series.

In the second round, the African missed several dangerous shots, but remained on his feet.

At least he didn't look shocked.

What was the surprise of all those present and the boxers themselves when the doctors recommended that the guest end the confrontation.

Oyala was outraged by this decision.

He walked around the ring and asked only one question in English: “Why?”

Supported him and the fans, who began to whistle with displeasure.

Realizing that the fight would not continue anyway, Collins lay down in the ring, spreading his legs and arms to the sides.

Later, he began to do push-ups, demonstrating that he was in perfect order.

The Kenyan's corner couldn't take him away, and ex-world champions Alexander Povetkin and Grigory Drozd had to calm him down.

Petrovsky, although he won, was hardly satisfied with the scandalous circumstances in which she was obtained.

Loud sensation from the Bald Predator

After that, Ismailov and Durodola finally appeared in the ring.

Magomed surprised immediately, because there was no signature smile on his face.

Bald Predator appeared extremely concentrated and collected.

And with the starting gong, he literally rushed to the attack, inflicting powerful blows on the opponent.

Two left hooks turned out to be especially dangerous.

From them, the Nigerian staggered, but he escaped in the clinch, and then he himself briefly became more active.

The second round turned out to be the most difficult for the Russian.

He was breathing heavily, and the fans, mindful of the problems with functional readiness, had cause for excitement.

However, a native of Nizhny Tagil competently avoided the opponent's attacks and, using the wrestling base, “knitted” his hands.

Durodola was frankly disappointing.

In fact, he did not show anything and never even shook an opponent inexperienced in boxing.

Further, Ismailov, who felt that everything was going according to his plan, got a second wind.

He competently reduced the distance, leveling the advantage of the African in the length of the arms, and carried out tangible series.

The left side worked especially well.

Olanrewaju seemed to continue to wait for a chance and was in no hurry.

After another hit by Magomed, he staggered again, but managed to avoid a knockout.

The Bald Predator greeted the final gong with a joyful cry, because he understood that a sensational victory would not go anywhere from him.

The success of the Russian did not cause doubts among the judges either, and they made a unanimous decision.

Happy Ismailov immediately shouted into the audience: “I don’t believe in myself!”

He managed to make a really loud upset.

“Before the fight, I was very worried and worried.

After all, Durodola is a professional boxer.

And everyone said that he would destroy me, make holes in me.

As you can see, there are no holes.

Worked well.

I hope I made you happy.

Thanks for your support.

She gave me 200 horsepower,” said the athlete.

He also separately thanked Tszyu for his help.

According to the MMA fighter, he perfectly heard all the tips of the ex-world champion during the fight and tried to do what he asked for.

In turn, Konstantin himself, who came out to congratulate the Bald Predator, told what advice he gave to his ward in the first place.

“It is difficult to try to reach a tall opponent from a long hand.

So I told him not to hit her in the head at all.

Only either during the counterattack, or already in the corner.

He explained: at a long distance you will simply lose strength and miss a retaliatory strike.

Mohammed did a great job.

I am happy that my tips helped achieve a good victory, ”summed up Tszyu.

One way or another, Ismailov's experiment turned out to be successful, and he ended the day in a good mood.

Now it remains for him to prepare for a meeting with Alexander Shlemenko in his native element - MMA.