The second ACA tournament in 2024, like the first, was also not without losses. But if last time they found a replacement for Oleg Borisov, who was injured, and actually saved the main fight of the evening with the participation of Magomed Bibulatov, this time it was not possible to do so. In total, two contractions were canceled at once, and in both cases the reasons were health problems that arose during weight loss. It was because of this that Lance Palmer, who was preparing to fight Apti Bimarzaev, and Alan Gomez, Azam Gaforov’s opponent in the flyweight Grand Prix semifinals, were unable to enter the cage.
True, this event did not increase the chances of the athlete from Tajikistan to get into the final round, but quite the contrary. After all, he himself was unable to properly prepare for the tournament and “significantly” exceeded the category limit, which probably upset the ACA management. According to the league’s statement, the decision to hold the semifinals will be made later, but it should not be ruled out that neither Gaforov nor Gomez, who initially replaced Kurban Gadzhiev, will perform in it.
But not only the above-mentioned trio experienced difficulties with weight loss. Not counting them, as many as five fighters did not fit into the frame, including the most experienced Mukhamed Kokov, whose duel with Daud Shaikhaev opened the main program of the 170th show. But if he was heavier than expected by 1.95 kg, then Bekbolt Abdylda was as much as 2.6 kg. And his opponent Abdul-Rahman Temirov turned out to be almost four kilograms heavier. However, this did not help him in the cage. The native of Kyrgyzstan spent almost all three rounds on the floor and failed to provide worthy competition.
The same fate befell Kokova. Daud Shaykhaev also bet on the fight and succeeded. At a certain moment in each segment, he seemed to switch into a faster gear, put his opponent on the canvas and did not give him the opportunity to seize the initiative. And at the end of the 15-minute period I almost caught Mukhamed in a choke from behind.
Kokov got out of a difficult situation, but only delayed the inevitable. Shaikhaev took the upper hand in a duel between two main contenders for the lightweight title by unanimous decision and won his ninth victory in a row. And although now he can be considered the main contender for the trophy, he is unlikely to be able to compete for it in the near future. After all, its owner Abdul-Aziz Abdulvakhabov is participating in the Grand Prix, and there is still a lot of time before it ends.
At the same time, the biggest sensation occurred in the next fight, during which ex-champion in the welterweight division Vitaly Slipenko made his debut in a new weight division. In July 2023, the Ukrainian lost the belt to Ustarmagomed Gadzhidaudov and moved up a category. And although he had not fought at 84 kg for more than five years, he still looked like a clear favorite in the fight with Nikola Dipchikov. Of the 33 fights, the Bulgarian won only two-thirds, and in the last six he was beaten four times. Moreover, in two cases he did not last even a couple of full rounds. First he was knocked out by Magomedrasul Gasanov, and then “strangled” by Mikhail Dolgov.
Apparently, Slipenko also counted on an easy victory, but underestimated his counterpart. As expected, he preferred to exchange positions with Dipchikov, but he took too many risks and often remained at a dangerous distance, allowing his opponent to deliver his hard blows. And he was punished for it. With a series of three hits, Nikola shocked Vitaly, and sent him to the canvas with a crushing left, after which he finished him off. And he himself was surprised by this outcome.
“I was preparing for a tough battle. I expected it to last three rounds. I didn't expect it to end so quickly. But that’s how it happened,” Dipchikov said.
Also, as part of ACA 170, the middleweight Grand Prix finalist was determined. True, it was not easy to pick a favorite. Abdul-Rakhman Dzhanaev and Shamil Abdulaev were among the elite of the division, and in recent years, if they were inferior, it was only to the stars. Only Ibragim Magomedov and the current champion Gasanov managed to cope with the first, and the former belt holder Salamu Abdurakhmanov managed to cope with the second.
However, this time it seemed as if athletes of somewhat different levels were competing in the cage. In fact, Abdulaev experienced minor problems only in the first round, where he occasionally allowed Dzhanaev to remain in an upright position and respond dangerously in the standing position. But over time, he began to succeed more and more on the ground, gradually depriving his opponent of any hope of success.
By the end of the second five-minute period, Abdulaev had four successful takedowns, and the next wrestling session almost turned into a fiasco for Dzhanaev. Shamil took his back and began to rain one blow after another on his opponent’s head, but he withstood it and then miraculously twisted out of the awkward position. And he managed to endure until the second break, during which he collapsed almost powerlessly into a chair.
As expected, Abdul-Rahman did not have enough minutes to recover. In the opening of the third round, he again missed the pass to the legs and found himself on the “zero floor”. And although he resisted for a very long time and stubbornly, in the end he still allowed Shamil to get into full mount. A few seconds later, Dzhanaev again found himself under a hail of blows, but this time he was unable to escape. The referee did not look at the beating of the athlete and intervened.
Thus, Abdulaev won the 15th victory in his career and made it to the ACA Grand Prix final, where he will compete with the winner of the duel between Gasanov and Ibragimov. Consequently, based on the results of the championship, he will be able to count not only on a cash prize, but also the title of champion.
“The break after the previous fight was long, there were some difficulties. Because of this, the preparation was not as desired. But I'm glad that everything turned out this way. We managed to fight, although it was not an easy task. And sometimes in the stand-up I was able to achieve something,” Abdulaev said.
In turn, in the main fight of the tournament, the title of the strongest heavyweight in the league was defended by Evgeniy Goncharov. Last March, he broke the resistance of Alikhan Vakhaev and not only won the title, but also reached the semi-finals of the Grand Prix, but in order to get to the next stage, he needed to get the better of his former counterpart. In December 2020, their paths with Anton Vyazigin already crossed, and then the current ACA champion turned out to be stronger. But as this fight showed, since that moment the challenger has changed noticeably.
Vyazigin was in no way inferior to Goncharov in the stand-up position, confidently holding his smaller opponent at a distance and periodically hitting him with either straight or side kicks. And in the middle of the second round he almost sent me to the canvas with a counter left hook. Evgeniy backed away and followed up with a kick to the body, but still resisted.
In general, Vyazigin looked not only brighter, but also more inventive, periodically delighting fans with spectacular dodges and spins. And although sometimes he allowed Goncharov to act as number one, he gradually increased the lead in the number of accurate hits. And already at the end of the third round his advantage was twofold (80:39), which was largely due to the colossal difference in the number of kicks. Unlike Evgeniy, Anton very often worked with low kicks, but did not forget to also attack the body.
Goncharov tried to close the distance, because he looked better in close combat. But even though Vyazigin was noticeably tired by the end of the fourth segment, he continued to quite successfully keep the enemy at a safe distance. Yes, Evgeniy took the center of the cage, and with it the initiative, but he could not seriously engage the challenger. Moreover, he regularly missed counter-attacks.
As a result, before the final round, Goncharov had 52 fewer accurate hits (61:113) and could well have been in an extremely difficult position. After all, to win he might need a knockout, which he hasn’t won since September 2022. Then he crushed Tony Johnson and returned to the top of the ACA heavyweight category. But this time it was not possible to repeat this success. Vyazigin was breathing heavily and was forced to retreat, but did not stop snapping. And he held out quite calmly until the final gong.
Vyazigin had one of the best fights of his career and, as it seemed, would end ACA 170 as the new heavyweight champion. But the judges had a different opinion. To everyone’s bewilderment, all five took Goncharov’s side, and one of them even gave him four out of five segments.
“A lot of things didn’t work out. Doesn't matter. The main thing is that the belt is on me. The fight was close, equal, I don’t deny it. I was a little more lucky. Anton is a decent guy. The character and spirit of a champion. Over the past five years, he has only lost to me,” Goncharov said.
Vyazigin was clearly shocked by the jury’s verdict, but tried not to show emotion. He highly appreciated his performance, but found it difficult to say in what way he was worse than Goncharov.
“Maybe there was something missing somewhere. In fact, I thought they would raise my hand. It seemed that I won the first two rounds. What to do. This means that Zhenya is more profitable than the organization, so they raised his hand. In any case, he is handsome,” said Vyazigin.