Last May, Alexander Emelianenko performed as part of the next tournament of the REN TV series Fight Club. The opponent of the popular fighter then became blogger Evgeny Ershov, and the fight was remembered for the fact that the referee, for some unknown reason, did not record Emelianenko’s defeat by knockout in the first round. And also for the way Alexander performed a kimura on his opponent almost without resistance and won.
After the victory, Phoenix disappeared from the Russian promotion radar for a long time, as he went to Ingushetia to undergo a rehabilitation course. Alexander summed up the results as follows: “I completed a full rehabilitation course, in my opinion, seven months. I drank, well, about a year ago, probably. It’s not that I was disgusted, you know, it’s just that I realized that it bothers me, that it’s unnecessary, that I don’t need it, that it pushes me very strongly in the wrong direction, that I can do without alcohol. And before I could do without it, but it’s just, you know… Life was like that. Everyone drinks. And you drink and he drinks. Everyone drinks. Well, for some reason, only Emelianenko is seen drinking.”
The stars are not keen on fighting Emelianenko:
Fights with Emelianenko = reputation losses? They don’t want to fight Alexander anymore.
And then Emelianenko burst into the media space. At first there were rumors that the fighter had converted to Islam, but he firmly responded with neutral answers, neither confirming nor denying. Then Alexander argued with the president of the IBA, Umar Kremlev. If a fighter does not drink for a year, he will be given an apartment. And besides, Emelianenko and his manager (at that time) Nikita Burchak loudly announced that they had signed “one of the largest contracts” with Ural FC for three fights.
The first opponent was also determined rather quickly: Emelianenko was supposed to have a rematch with Vyacheslav Datsik, who two years earlier knocked him out in 13 seconds. The fighters managed to hold several media events, slightly teased each other through the press and personally and with all their might tried to draw attention to the fight, which, in principle, they succeeded in doing. But due to circumstances that have not yet been disclosed, the tournament was canceled and no one rescheduled the fight between Emelianenko and Datsik.
Vyacheslav Datsik
Photo: Dmitry Golubovich, “Championship”
And Alexander again disappeared from the media for several weeks, which was unusual. As a rule, he actively posts on his Telegram channel and gives interviews, but this time he simply disappeared. And when he appeared, he said that he had lost his phone and passports while hiking in the mountains.
Now Emelianenko, apparently, has chosen a new opponent, and this is not a rematch with Datsik: “I will gladly fight Dzhigan, even tomorrow. Dzhigan, if you are a man, if you have a masculine spirit, come out and fight me! Otherwise, you stirred up this whole story about the fight with Emelianenko, pumped it up and pumped it up, and then took it and merged. Now you are training somewhere, they say you are in shape, you have filled the tank, come out, I will slap you on the head! Come out and be a man.”
An important nuance: Alexander wants to box, and not fight according to MMA rules. And he already has a history of “confrontation” with Dzhigan. Their fight could have taken place in 2021, but everything fell through and the rap artist spoke harshly about his failed opponent: “To be honest, I was burning with this desire when this whole scandal with Alexander Emelianenko began. I thought I would get ready, so I started working out and training again. And the rumor disappeared. And it’s not even about the money. I lost this buzz, I don’t have it now. If I get this rumor, I can answer the question about the fees. Then I collected 50 million rubles. I think that at that time it was an adequate fee. And it was possible to realize all this. But, unfortunately, Sasha Emelianenko was drinking. More than me. And in this he won.”
Now Umar Kremlev can organize the fight: “It is possible. If they are ready, we will organize it. But only in boxing. Financial requests? We are ready, it all depends on their willingness. We are ready to invest ourselves and find sponsors.”
Umar Kremlev
Photo by: RIA Novosti
Emelianenko has already become active on social media, recording videos and in every possible way demonstrating his readiness to return to business. And, no matter what this fight is, people will want to see Alexander, he will gather an audience. In addition, he has experience fighting with non-professionals, and Dzhigan also has his own fan base who will want to appreciate the rapper in the ring. And the main thing is that the fighters are willing to take an interest financially, so the chances of such a fight are considerable. And Emelianenko will have the opportunity to make a triumphant return.
