After the defeats to Alexander Ilic and Magomed Ismailov, many were quick to write off Alexander Shlemenko. However, while he is clearly not going to end his career. The veteran not only agreed to face Alex Oliveira at the tournament in Omsk in July, but also agreed to fight Yasubei Enomoto according to the rules of kickboxing in Moscow.
An additional intrigue of the fight was that the rivals had already met. Nine years ago, Storm won a landslide victory by unanimous decision. Now the Swiss, who has been performing in Russia for a long time, has an excellent opportunity to take revenge.
At the same time, it was extremely curious to see how both would manifest themselves in a new form. Shlemenko started kickboxing at the age of seven and even won a silver medal at the Omsk Championship. However, he did not have a single professional fight, and therefore admitted that he was excited.
"This is a new direction for me. And now there are several questions about the same rules, refereeing, in order to generally understand how to build a plan for the fight. It is the plan that is now the main thing, "REN TV quotes the ex-Bellator champion.
Despite all the difficulties, he stressed that he was ready for a "hard wheelhouse" and promised to knock out his opponent. In turn, Enomoto, who met in addition to the Storm with such well-known domestic fighters as Shamil Zavurov, Vladimir Mineev, Ivan Shtyrkov, Albert Tumenov and others, said that he was preparing for the confrontation as usual, except that he ruled out the fight.
"I've been doing sports for over 20 years, so there's nothing special about it for me. I will focus more on striking, since there will be no fight in this fight and, accordingly, I attach more importance to the striking technique," said the Swiss.
However, with one component of preparation, Yasubei still managed to surprise both the opponent and the fans when he posted a video of sparring with a bear on social networks. According to the fighter, the beast won with a score of 2:1.
As a result, the fight, although it ended with the long-awaited victory of the Russian, left an unpleasant aftertaste. The first round did not raise any questions. Storm had the advantage and was fighting. As in the best of times, he aggressively went forward and forced his opponent to lock himself at the ropes. Alexander was especially careful to heal the liver. He repeatedly struck the body with both fists and feet. Looking ahead, the latter opponents rarely used, and therefore the fight was more like a boxing one. Not without Shlemenko's trademark backfists.
Enomoto responded with no less dangerous series. His shots did not carry such power, but he acted much faster. And in the second segment, the ex-Bellator champion began to experience problems. He slowed down significantly, which did not go unnoticed by the opponent. Yasubei finally began to enjoy the advantage in the length of his arms and kept the Russian at a distance. Tom simply did not have enough speed to break the distance. He compensated for the lack in this aspect with crazy desire and dedication.
Periodically, Shlemenko still managed to hack with the Swiss. He also continued to heal his liver. Especially memorable was the episode before the final break, when he delivered a luxurious mid-kick from the turn to the opponent's body.
The last round was rather equal. On the one hand, the problems of a domestic fighter with functional readiness have become even more obvious. He conceded more and more and allowed the opponent to conduct the series "on the floors". On the other hand, Enomoto was also tired and missed a lot. For example, Storm brought a flying knee and a trademark backfist to the target. At least, he went forward to the end, trying to turn the tide of the fight. In the end, the opponents even collided heads, but, fortunately, there were no cuts.
It was not so easy to determine the winner. The Russian looked preferable in the opening, and the Swiss in the second half. Therefore, a draw was seen as a fair outcome. All the more unexpected was the final decision of the judges - they unanimously took the side of the Storm. And the championship belt was hung around his waist personally by the former world boxing champion Alexander Povetkin.
But, it seems, the triumphant himself was embarrassed by this outcome. Having got his hands on the microphone, he asked the fans several times if they liked the fight. Frustrated, Enomoto immediately left the ring.
"I feel great, because Alexander Povetkin himself put a belt on me. One can only dream of such a thing. Thank you all. I think you liked the fight. Enomoto is great. He always agreed to strong felling and did not hide from serious rivals. In Russia, he fought only with tops. He's handsome. Then the fight is in July. I want to invite everyone," Shlemenko said.
One way or another, he returned to the winning path and did not allow Enomoto to take revenge, even if the referee's verdict in the confrontation turned out to be controversial. It is much more important how the fight under the rules of MMA with Oliveira will develop for the veteran in the summer.