strange circus. Taktarov and Monson fought and kicked in a boxing match
August 19, 2023, 00:53 UTC
They then agreed to hold a rematch according to MMA rules.
On August 18, the next tournament of the REN TV Fight Club super series was held in Moscow. As part of the main event of the night, a duel was held between mixed martial arts veterans Oleg Taktarov and Jeff Monson. Both two-man fighters are already 107 years old, and the fight between them had to go according to boxing rules: three rounds of two minutes each.
It is worth remembering that Taktarov had his last fight in 2008. Then the first Russian UFC champion defeated Mark Kerr by submission. So the fight with Monson over Oleg was the first cage appearance in 15 years. The 55-year-old was pretty upbeat though, not even embarrassed by the postponement of the August 4 fight to a later date.
Was Taktarov a true UFC champion?
Is Taktarov not a true UFC champion? The title of the Russian bear was disputed by many stars.
Jeff Monson, of course, has been more active in recent years, and it’s not just about the fight field. In March, the veteran had a boxing match with Artur Vardanyan, which ended in a draw. After that, there was first talk about a duel with Lom-Ali Gazgiriev, and then it was predicted that Alexander Emelianenko would be Jeff’s rival.
Also, in the case of the second, the date was constantly changing, but in the end the trilogy was cancelled. In addition, Monson said in April that he is now Russian and has already surrendered his US passport, renouncing his citizenship. According to Jeff himself, after the fight with Taktarov, he is finally going to go into politics. So this is most likely the last time we see Monson fight.
The first round started very cautiously. The fighters tried to find the distance, tested each other. The pace of the duel was very slow, Taktarov tried to dive under Monson’s arm and beat from there. At the end of the two-minute period, Oleg was nervous after Jeff tried to grab him. The veterans got so carried away by the notch that the referee couldn’t separate them. At some point, it looked like the boxing match would turn into wrestling.
The real fun started in the second round. The opponents traded blows and entered the clinch. Furthermore, both of them completely ignored the order to “stop” and continued to fight. As a result, Monson couldn’t take it and made a pass at his feet, sending Taktarov to the canvas. He responded by turning his heel. The referee had to work hard to separate the fighters.
In the third round, the veterans quickly tired of boxing and minutes later they were back on the court. It is true that the degree of confrontation has seriously increased. Taktarov was furious, Monson hit him on the back of the head. Most of all, it was a pity for the judge, who tried unsuccessfully to separate the fighters. They did not listen to the order and Jeff managed to kick the opponent in the back.
The main events of the REN TV Fight Club tournament:
Live
Fight club REN-TV: Indistinct battle between Taktarov and Monson and Datsik’s victory
As a result of such a hot duel, the judges could not determine the winner. A tie was declared by decision of the majority of the judges. True, this is not enough for legends, and now they want to fight according to the rules of MMA. We are waiting for more fire.
