On November 18, the REN TV Fight Club super series tournament was held in Sochi, the main event of which was a high-profile fight between Vladimir Mineev and Ivan Shtyrkov. On paper, these are two very big names in Russian MMA, plus they had to fight according to the rules of kickboxing, which also promised to add entertainment.
In fact, the fighters spent three rounds extremely cautious. Shtyrkov simply did not have enough skills to compete with a kickboxer of this level. Of course, Ivan charged with strong, wide punches and periodically indicated low kicks, sometimes landing successfully, but this was catastrophically not enough for the fight with Mineev. So you simply can’t beat Vladimir in this sport. Volzhanin, in turn, did not force events. He worked with care and precision, demonstrated good striking technique and seemed to show his opponent how to punch in kickboxing. It became more and more like sparring, where one fighter is significantly superior to the other in level, but does not really want to increase the pace, and the second simply cannot stand the competition. The teacher gave a kickboxing lesson and won easily by decision.
Read more about the fight between Mineev and Shtyrkov.
Mineev gave Shtyrkov a kickboxing lesson. Ural Hulk did not show anything
The fight looked especially colorless in contrast to the previous three fights on the main card, where the crowd saw three beautiful finishes. A brilliant and uncompromising fight between Mineev and Shtyrkov was expected, but in the end many were disappointed.
Of course, it is fair to rely on Andrei Arshavin’s famous phrase about expectations and problems, but Kamil Gadzhiev also made it clear that the fighters were taking care of themselves: “We can say that one did not risk much, and the second, seeing that Ivan did not take risks , he did not consider it necessary to escalate and worked calmly, took the fight on points. Can you understand both? Yes. Vova was at risk of getting into trouble, but Vanya probably understood… Remember that he was knocked out a month and a half ago or “Two, and this is an important factor. After this, a person does not fully understand his capabilities.”
In general, it seems strange that fighters, when entering a fight, begin to be overly cautious. Modern martial arts are also an element of spectacle and spectacle. This was sorely lacking in the confrontation between Mineev and Shtyrkov. Especially knowing how they both can fight. This is a problem, because in a show it is important that the audience enjoys everything. One could refer to the fact that Iván is not a kickboxer, but then why are fights held between representatives of different sports? This should not serve as a deliberate excuse in case of a failed execution.
Mineev could compete in the UFC, but he was not interested in the offer
Mineev could become a UFC superstar. Vladimir had everything but desire.
For example, Shtyrkov said after the fight that he had no intention of working as a kickboxer: “We weren’t going to do kickboxing, what kind of kickboxer am I? I learned to kick five years ago. It is impossible to work with me according to the classics because, as Vladimir pointed out, he can fly from anywhere. People try to work according to a model, and when people like me come out, clumsy, strong and resistant, with their own specific technique, then they feel uncomfortable. Yes, Wladimir had punches, knees, that’s what he had to do. He did everything clearly, but we did our thing. Honestly, he was somewhat happy with this result. Of course, I understood that they would not raise their hands on me, I was aware of what was happening. It is necessary to make the most of every defeat and victory, especially defeats. If you don’t, this defeat will have a worse impact.”
What Shtyrkov describes is the technique of most basic MMA sambo fighters, in this case the fight must be carried out immediately according to these rules and there will be no dissonance in the form of “I went to a kickboxing fight, but they were not”. “I’m not going to do any kickboxing.”
So the idea of mixing different martial arts doesn’t work? But in Russia they are persistently testing this format, although everything already seems like a stalemate. The fight between Mineev and Shtyrkov could be a good boost for local promotions and suggest that it is better to focus on one thing, but at the same time consistently produce a quality product and not leave questions and a bad aftertaste after a high profile. but mediocre fights.
