A new addition is expected to the family of Russian mixed martial arts fighter Marina Mokhnatkina. On the one hand, one can only be happy for the multiple world sambo champion and her young husband.

However, the bright Russian woman went overseas to reach a new level in her career. And for this she even sacrificed the opportunity to be close to her son.

Now Mokhnatkina’s prospects in martial arts are very uncertain.

Fights won’t happen soon

Mokhnatkina announced her pregnancy on social networks. The fighter published a photo with a rounded belly and explicitly captioned it.

— Who asked about the fights? I think not soon,” Mokhnatkina wrote.

Marina Mokhnatkina / Photo: © Personal archive of Marina Mokhnatkina

Marina got married to the famous fighter Sergei Spivak in the summer of 2023. The native of Moldova competes as a heavyweight in the UFC and has a record of 16-4. It is interesting that the Russian woman continues to perform as Mokhnatkina, although she is listed on social networks under the name Spivak.

“My son is growing up in the right environment”

This is not the first child for Marina. In 2014, she gave birth to a son, Alexander. But fate turned out to be such that the athlete is raising him mainly remotely.

Marina lived for eight years with world champion in combat sambo Mikhail Mokhnatkin. In 2020, their relationship ended on an amicable note. The reason was the girl’s desire to concentrate on her sports career in the USA – Mokhnatkina had already worked with Bellator.

Even then, Marina often left little Sasha under the supervision of her father while she prepared for performances in the octagon. In the end, Mokhnatkina decided to leave her husband and leave for permanent residence in the United States, leaving her son in Russia.

Mikhail and Marina with their son / Photo: © Personal archive of Marina Mokhnatkina

Later, the fighter explained her controversial act. According to Marina, sometimes you have to make certain sacrifices for the sake of high goals.

“I have to sacrifice the fact that I live and don’t see my son. But we communicate with him every day via video call. The son is growing up in the right environment. Of course, I miss it, but common sense must be preferred. No one has any grievances,” Mokhnatkina said in an interview Metaratings.ru.

Alexander’s father, a sambo wrestler, and grandfather, a coach, took charge of raising Alexander. In addition to studying at a comprehensive school, the boy is involved in sports and music. The mother is not worried about her son’s future and calls his father a worthy man who is able to raise the child to his feet.

You’ll have to forget about sports for a while

Having left for America, Marina tried to build a sports career, as she dreamed of. To some extent, she succeeded: in nine fights she won seven victories. True, I had to change the organization – Mokhnatkina moved from Bellator to PFL.

Amber Leibrock and Marina Mokhnatkina / Photo: © Cooper Neill / Contributor / Getty Images Sport / Gettyimages.ru

At one of the training sessions, Marina met Sergei Spivak. Their relationship quickly developed into a romantic one and led to marriage. Now the couple is expecting the birth of a child.

It is clear that we will have to forget about sports for a while. Although Mokhnatkina herself noted that the birth of a child does not interfere with developing a career.

— Is it difficult to return to sports after childbirth? If the pregnancy was normal, then it’s actually not that difficult. We just need to restore functional conditions,” Mokhnatkina said in an interview with Sports.ru.

The feminine principle turned out to be stronger

But it’s worth considering that Marina gave birth to her first child at 26 years old. Her second child will be born when she is 36. At that age, returning to mixed martial arts is extremely difficult, if not impossible.

In such a situation, there is a possibility that this time Marina will be closely involved in raising a child and will prefer the joy of motherhood to dreams of a sports career.