The outgoing year turned out to be one of the most difficult for Alexander Shlemenko.
The expected confrontation with Magomed Ismailov was postponed twice, which added to his preparation problems.
And he approached the “fight of the year” with two consecutive mixed results in the background.
First, Storm unexpectedly lost in 22 seconds to Alexander Ilic, and a month later he broke the world with Kleber Souza in his own promotion and was closer to a misfire than to victory.
The last straw was the beating from Magomed Ismailov.
In the career of a veteran, there were more unsuccessful series.
For example, in 2017-2018, he suffered three defeats in a row.
However, the level of resistance was much higher (Geghard Mousasi won belts in Strikeforce and Bellator, Bruno Silva currently competes in the UFC, and Anatoly Tokov successfully proves himself in Bellator), and the age is less.
For comparison, the peak for Ilich was the title in the Polish KSW, and Souza was completely unknown to a wide range of fans.
Ismailov, on the other hand, never tried his hand at leading organizations on the planet.
At the same time, on the eve of the confrontation with the Bald Predator, Shlemenko was considered an obvious underdog.
There was no doubt about the success of the Dagestani despite the knee injury and almost a year-long pause in MMA.
Unfortunately for Alexander, the fight confirmed the correctness of these predictions.
Moreover, it is significant that he lost in those components in which, it seemed, he was obliged to have an advantage, for example, in the rack.
The profile wrestler Ismailov, who had two fights in 2022 according to the rules of boxing, showed serious progress in striking technique and interrupted an opponent specializing in hand-to-hand combat.
At the same time, contrary to expectations, Magomed practically did not try to carry out takedowns.
He could also take his Storm due to better functional readiness, because he was always considered a fighter capable of fighting from the first to the last minute, practically without slowing down.
The opponent, on the contrary, experienced difficulties with this.
You can remember how during the third round of the second confrontation with Vladimir Mineev, he lost consciousness due to lack of oxygen.
In addition, Alexander had rich experience in holding five-round meetings, while the opponent fought in this format only with Mineev, and in both cases he turned out to be weaker.
But here, too, the Bald Predator was better, withstanding all 25 minutes.
Shlemenko showed signs of fatigue already at the start, and besides, he again received a broken nose and was forced to convulsively swallow air with his mouth, dropping his mouthguard.
The only thing in which the native of Omsk surpassed his counterparts is his trademark backfists, powerful high-kicks and unbending character, which allowed him to hold out to the end.
But in recent years, the former Bellator champion has increasingly had to replace skill with willpower.
At 38, it's increasingly difficult for him to bring himself to fights in perfect shape, especially when the preparation becomes as chaotic as it is now.
Just a month after the defeat from Ilic, the athlete was forced to fight Souza, since their meeting was the main one at the Shlemenko Fighting Championship 5 tournament, timed to coincide with the 200th anniversary of the Omsk region.
The athlete had no right not to go into the "cage".
As a result, he received a broken nose and aggravated the injury in the confrontation with Ismailov.
However, Magomed did not waste time in vain and in October he calmly knocked out the same Ilich according to boxing rules.
Another point is motivation.
Shlemenko, who already has almost 80 MMA fights under his belt and a title in one of the most prestigious organizations on the planet, is difficult to resist opponents whose level has become noticeably lower over the years.
It is clear that the financial issue is not the last, especially since Alexander has a large family, but no one has canceled his sports ambition.
A meeting with one of the strongest middleweights in the country could not be without interest to Storm, and he even expressed a desire to have a rematch.
But the opponent emphasized that he was not interested in this option.
In this case, the legend risks turning into a kind of "springboard" for young opponents who wish to give a new impetus to their careers due to his big name.
So, the talented “prospect” Sharabutdin Magomedov, who defeated Mikhail Ragozin at the same RCC 13 tournament, announced his desire to meet with him.
Or he will go into the "cage" with unknown opponents of Souza's level.
One way or another, an age athlete can not only suffer serious damage to health, but also cast a shadow on his own rich heritage.
In this regard, perhaps the worst example for a Russian will be António Silva.
The former UFC and Strikeforce star continues to travel the world past 40 and suffer defeat after defeat.
In MMA alone, Bigfoot has seven failures in a row, six of which are by knockout.
Much more pragmatic was Khabib Nurmagomedov, who ended his career at 32, being at his peak, and found himself in other activities, although he could safely perform at the highest level for several more years.
Most importantly, Shlemenko does not belong to the category of people who find it difficult to imagine themselves in a different role, except as an athlete.
On the contrary, he has long been torn between training and organizational activities.
Last year he created his own promotion Shlemenko Fighting Championship.
Also in his native Omsk there is a martial arts school "Storm".
Finally, Alexander regularly works out with teammates.
Thus, if the former Bellator champion hangs up his gloves, he will not be bored.
In the new role of a coach and organizer, with his rich experience, he will bring no less benefit to domestic MMA.
Finally, we must not forget that the veteran is raising four children.
And at 38, after 77 fights in mixed martial arts, he deserved to pay more attention to them and his wife.