Russian MMA fighter Magomed Ismailov on October 7 will fight under the rules of boxing with Alexander Ilich. The Serbian Joker has already managed to figure out the cage with another eminent Russian Alexander Shlemenko, now he is ready to test the skills of the Bald Predator in the ring. Future rivals have already met face to face and almost got into a fight in the battle of views.

The warming up of the future confrontation involuntarily forces us to draw parallels with another rivalry with the participation of Ismailov, which went beyond the limits of a single meeting in a cage. Even before the fight, the bald Predator tried to sort things out with Vladimir Mineev, withstood five hardest rounds in the octagon, and then wanted to continue on the street.

The winner in the dispute was identified for three years.

“Hit him in the neck”

The culmination of the Fight Nights Global 90 tournament, held in Moscow on October 19, 2018, was a showdown between two bright Russian middleweights – Magomed Ismailov and Vladimir Mineev. Fans of mixed martial arts were in for a curious confrontation between a drummer from the banks of the Volga and a wrestler from the Caucasus Mountains, who, moreover, had time to say a lot of big words to each other before entering the octagon.

Ismailov, you are a coward. You cannot be found alone anywhere, you go everywhere with a crowd. It feels like you always need a support group. In this confrontation, only Magomed needs material support. My motivation is to beat him, – Sport24 quoted Vladimir Mineev.

Vladimir Mineev / Photo: © Denis Bushkovsky / Match TV

Magomed did not like this manner of communication on the eve of the battle. At one of the joint press conferences, Ismailov decided to move on to physical impact on the opponent.

– I never thought that I would be in a situation where I would do something to my opponent before the fight. I did not hit Mineev, I did what I saw fit, based on my moral, masculine principles. The public man Mineev publicly slandered and insulted me, he called me a coward. Even when I asked him again at the morning press conference, he again repeated it in public, without even trying to smooth the edges. As a public person, I answered him publicly, so to speak. “Hit him in the neck” to the public. Such a purely instructive wrestling push in the neck,” Magomed Ismailov described the situation on social networks.

Passions are not without difficulty, but still managed to pay off – the brawl was without serious consequences. The strongest fighters, as intended, were still to be determined in an official duel according to the rules of MMA, and not at a press conference preceding the event.

Solo Ismailov

The battle between Volzhanin and the Bald Predator was supposed to take place back in the spring, but at that moment Mineev could not enter the octagon due to an injury. By the autumn confrontation, he also had not yet had time to fully recover – the taped shoulder hinted at Vladimir’s somewhat limited capabilities in the upcoming fight.

Whether it was due to injury or not, but at the beginning of the fight, Ismailov was the soloist, forcing the opponent to only occasionally snap. Magomed was extremely self-confident, at times he even played for the audience. An experienced wrestler was not opposed to boxing with a profile drummer, and when he got bored with it, he transferred the fight to the ground.

Mineev could also fight – before the fight with Ismailov, he went through a camp in Dagestan. However, at first, it was impossible to oppose something to the takedowns performed by the Bald Predator. To be honest, Mineev didn’t manage much at all in the first round – except that low-kicks periodically somehow restrained Magomed.

Having lost outright the starting round, Mineev did not look too confident even after a short rest. Ismailov again turned the fight to the ground and began to mercilessly beat the lying opponent, clearly intending to finish the job ahead of schedule. True, this time Vladimir began to inflict some damage to his counterpart even in a lying position, and when he got to his feet, things gradually went smoothly. It was as if the Bald Predator was running out of fuel, he was getting slower, his attack was not so sharp.

“I didn’t retreat and I didn’t save”

In subsequent rounds, Volzhanin began to take the initiative into his own hands. He began to take hits on all floors, including high-kicks. But the opponent even with the fight stopped working. Not letting Magomed close, Mineev even allowed himself to act with his hands down. Already he began to play for the audience, with courage he even almost got into the fight.

Magomed Ismailov and Vladimir Mineev / Photo: © AMC FIGHT NIGHTS

Of course, Ismailov did not give up in the final rounds. He was looking for his chance, but each of his attacks did not lead to a tangible result. In one of the episodes, Magomed almost got knocked down, but still withstood the blow. Mineev, despite the superiority in the end, could not get an early victory either.

The hardest five-round duel, at the end of which the opponents could hardly stand on their feet, was left behind. It was difficult to predict the winner – everyone believed that victory was his. The judge’s verdict did not add clarity: 48 – 46 Mineev, 48-46 Ismailov, 48-48. The draw disappointed both fighters, and the dispute could not be resolved by a fair battle according to the rules of MMA.

“Something definitely went wrong in this fight, I admit it. After the second round, he stopped feeling strength at all. And I had to accept his job, fight on his floor, standing. I didn’t back down or pass, right? I’m not against a rematch. But for his words, we generally have to talk to him on the street. So I want to see what he will say to me on the street, will he repeat to me that I am a coward? Because everything is different on the street, the round will not end there and they will not lift us into a rack, ”Match TV quoted Ismailov’s words after the fight.

The fighters repeatedly exchanged barbs on social networks, tried to fight at a meeting. The protracted rivalry was resolved only after three years.