Screen grab, Mila Kuznetsova’s YouTube
If you can put YouTubers in a boxing match, maybe this won’t be as bad an idea?
In a sport known for unpredictability, fans are rarely surprised when someone well outside of the sport decides that they want to take a crack at MMA. You’ve got your comedians, your baseball players, adult performers, prankster actors, fitness models, and some that make noise but never get to fight (which is for the best).
But there’s something about the cage and the 4oz gloves that allows for any Tom, Dick and Harry to think that they have what it takes. Perhaps it’s the chaotic nature of the fights, or the everyman nature of the fighters themselves, facilitating the idea that any person can work through the required six months of sprawl training to get a taste of violence and glory.
This time around, we’ve got Mila Kuznetsova, a Ukranian Instagram model that is surging in popularity. Just a few short weeks ago, she declared she wanted to train to be a boxer, and has now changed lanes to announce her intentions to get into the MMA game.
As a former Miss World Plus-Size, this is a clear attempt to to bank on online popularity to branch out and do other things. She’s planned on heading out to Thailand once travel restrictions are eased for training, although she has no opponent scheduled as of yet.
Russian-language site Championat reports that she’ll have an exhibition bout in Thailand, and her manager will invite a major VIP to be present: MMA Megastar Conor McGregor (translation via Google).
The organizer of the MMA evening will be Russian businessman and blogger Maxim Mernes, who has been living on the island of Phuket for many years. He talked about plans to invite former UFC champion in two weight categories to the show, Conor McGregor.
“Mila will hold a show fight. We are looking for an opponent with similar parameters. Now we have three options: (an) American, (a) Russian and (a) British (fighter).”
“We are going to invite Conor McGregor as an honored guest. The show is planned for September. The date depends on external factors. I hope that we will finally decide on the date in July. We pay cryptocurrency fees to the participants of the show.” said Mernes.
Mila will be looking to make a splash not just in a new sport in another country, but with a ton of attention on the event should the former dual champ accept the invitation.
Just goes to show that in this sport, the door truly is open for anyone that can bring attention. With the right people in place, a small event can suddenly become a big deal.