GRAPHIC: Russian MMA Fighters Left Unrecognizable After War

There is no doubt that MMA is not a sport for everyone, and Russian MMA fighters Mateusz Makarowski and Krystian Blezien learned that the hard way at MMA Attack 4. Heading into the event, Markarowski was riding a record of 8-4, while Blezien sat at 6-3…

There is no doubt that MMA is not a sport for everyone, and Russian MMA fighters Mateusz Makarowski and Krystian Blezien learned that the hard way at MMA Attack 4. Heading into the event, Markarowski was riding a record of 8-4, while Blezien sat at 6-3 as a pro MMA fighter. They stepped into the…

Continue Reading GRAPHIC: Russian MMA Fighters Left Unrecognizable After War at MMA News.

Report: Judges & Referee At EFN 50 Work For Fedor, Maldonado Appealing Loss

Controversy in Russia, again… The strange story surrounding former Pride FC and BAMMA heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko continues. The Russian mixed martial arts legend was once considered the greatest pound-for-pound fighter on the globe, ruling the heavyweight category from Japan with an iron fist, and this was back when JMMA had the most legit talent on the

The post Report: Judges & Referee At EFN 50 Work For Fedor, Maldonado Appealing Loss appeared first on LowKick MMA.

Controversy in Russia, again…

The strange story surrounding former Pride FC and BAMMA heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko continues. The Russian mixed martial arts legend was once considered the greatest pound-for-pound fighter on the globe, ruling the heavyweight category from Japan with an iron fist, and this was back when JMMA had the most legit talent on the planet. Once Pride was made defunct, ‘The Last Emperor’ would test the waters in the USA, fighting for Strikeforce while trying to hash out a contract with the UFC.

The Ultimate Fighting championship would never sign Emelianenko, claiming he and his management team at the time, M-1 Global, were demanding unrealistic terms and pay. What did happen though was a crossover fight with Dan Henderson, at the time a light-heavyweight in the UFC, who would hand Emelianenko his third straight loss during a troublesome time in the Russian’s illustrious career.

Fedor Emelianenko vs Antonio Silva

Having been submitted by Fabricio Werdum and bludgeoned by ‘Bigfoot’ Silva, it was back to more familiar territory in Russia and Japan, and a considerable drop in calibre of competition for Fedor. Time had caught up to him, and straight wins over Jeff Monson, Satoshi Ishii and Pedro Rizzo weren’t exactly ground breaking, but served as a fair twilight to an illustrious service as a fighter. Emelianenko would retire in 2012 with a 34-4 (1) record.

It would be a short lived exit from the sport though, as ‘The Last Emperor’ would reveal his comeback in 2015, endlessly teasing potential opponents while speculation of a long-awaited UFC contract began raging all over again. The truth was that Fedor wouldn’t be fighting in the UFC, or even against credible competition upon his return, the consensus greatest heavyweight of his era would be fighting a 1-0 unknown MMA ‘fighter’ by the name of Jaideep Singh.

fedor 1What were we witnessing? The very man who so convincingly dispatched many fellow legends during his prime was now resorting to dangerous squash matches on Japanese turf? After crushing the clearly over matched and under qualified Singh, Emelianenko signed a one-fight deal with Euro Fight Nights, appearing at EFN 50 this past weekend. In possibly his most inglorious moment, Fedor has become embroiled in heavy controversy.

Here’s where things get a little deep, as numerous reports indicate some very shady happenings following Fedor’s majority decision win over UFC veteran Fabio Maldonado on June 17. Here’s a snippet of he action in St Petersburg, Russia:
After battering Emelianenko to near-death in the first round, arguably a 10-7 or at least 10-8 frame for Maldonado, the UFC veteran would go on to lose the fight by majority decision. At first glance, many argued this fight was, at best for Fedor, a draw, but clearly appeared to have been a convincing win for Maldonado. A troubling report by investigative journalist Karim Zidan would shed some light on this controversial matter:

Several days ahead of the anticipated Fedor vs. Maldonado showdown, the Russian MMA Union assigned the three judges who would be responsible for the scorecards in the main event: Evgeny Gribkov, Alexey Gorokhov, and Maria Makhmutova.

The announcement came as a surprise to many within the industry. The three officials were Russian natives for a contest that pitted a Russian against a Brazilian fighter. The shocking elements was that the Russian MMA Union was actually headed by Fedor himself. The legendary fighter is the unanimously voted president of the association several years prior and still maintained that role behind the scenes.

While reports suggested that Fedor had surrendered his position as president when he decided to return to professional competition in 2015, that was certainly not the case. Fedor was present at the MMA Championship of Russia, which took place in Orenburg. A Russian MMA Union press release on the event clearly referred to Fedor as the “President of the Union of Russian MMA.”

Though this does not necessarily suggest that Fedor handpicked the officials himself, it does accentuate the conflict of interest involved in that main event. The referee and judges were assigned by the same organization that Fedor is in charge of – the only MMA federation certified by the Ministry of Sports in Russia.

FedorEmelianenkoFabioMaldonado

Let’s not pretend this fight was not murky to begin with, as Fabio himself claimed he’d be doing steroids for his bout with Fedor, with no drug testing regime in place, before retracting his comments as ‘a joke.’ But that’s by the by, many feel Maldonado was robbed and, although he said he wouldn’t appeal the loss during the post fight presser, the Brazilian’s team confirmed to MMAFighting.com they would in fact look to have the result overturned:

We’re very happy with Fabio’s performance, he made everything right inside the cage. One of our main goals was to show the world the fighter he truly is and what he can do when he is 100% focused, and we did that. But we went there focused on winning and we feel like the judges took that away from us. The promoters didn’t agree with the result and most of the fighters who were there also think the result was strange.

Round 1 was clearly a 10-8 for us, Round 2 Fedor got a close 10-9 and round 3 was very close but we think Maldonado got the better shots. It was a least a draw, and we will appeal to Russian MMA Union to review this result.

An obvious conflict of interests is present here, whether or not the fix was in, this fight’s result and officiating needs to be looked at. The only problem is that Maldonado will appeal to the very Russian MMA Union that’s headed by Fedor Emelianenko himself, so don’t expect much change in this result.

We’ll keep you updated on this story as more news comes in.

The post Report: Judges & Referee At EFN 50 Work For Fedor, Maldonado Appealing Loss appeared first on LowKick MMA.

VIDEO: This Backflip Guard Pass Is the Coolest Thing You’ll See All Week

Holy shit. Epic guard pass at Akhmat pic.twitter.com/8tWsHEJ4Us

— caposa (@GrabakaHitman) June 11, 2016

(via caposa)

We’ve seen all varieties of guard passes in MMA over the years: Chad Mendes’ front flip, Mark Hunt’s atomic butt drop, and perhaps most impressively, Ze Wu’s flying cartwheel groin stomp. We’ve seen Mark Coleman put himself into guard for reasons that remain a mystery to this day, but the one thing that all of these guard passes all seem to have in common? They don’t really work.

Yes, it’s a sad fact that the world of stylistic guard passes are, well, more style than substance when it comes right down to it, but that’s something Russian lightweight Dzhihad Yunusov was looking to change while competing at an Akhmat event this morning. Squaring off against Konstantin Veselkin and finding himself stifled by his opponent’s guard, Yunusov opted to skip the foreplay and get right to the main event — to deliver an incredibly muddled metaphor — back-flipping over Veselkin’s legs and right into side mount in one of the sickest sequences you’ll see this year.

As if that wasn’t enough, Yunusov then went on to submit Veselkin with a god dang Ezekiel choke in the closing moments of the second round. I think it’s safe to say that we should all probably be keeping an eye on this kid.

After the jump The full fight between Yunusov and Veselki.

The post VIDEO: This Backflip Guard Pass Is the Coolest Thing You’ll See All Week appeared first on Cagepotato.


(via caposa)

We’ve seen all varieties of guard passes in MMA over the years: Chad Mendes’ front flip, Mark Hunt’s atomic butt drop, and perhaps most impressively, Ze Wu’s flying cartwheel groin stomp. We’ve seen Mark Coleman put himself into guard for reasons that remain a mystery to this day, but the one thing that all of these guard passes all seem to have in common? They don’t really work.

Yes, it’s a sad fact that the world of stylistic guard passes are, well, more style than substance when it comes right down to it, but that’s something Russian lightweight Dzhihad Yunusov was looking to change while competing at an Akhmat event this morning. Squaring off against Konstantin Veselkin and finding himself stifled by his opponent’s guard, Yunusov opted to skip the foreplay and get right to the main event — to deliver an incredibly muddled metaphor — back-flipping over Veselkin’s legs and right into side mount in one of the sickest sequences you’ll see this year.

As if that wasn’t enough, Yunusov then went on to submit Veselkin with a god dang Ezekiel choke in the closing moments of the second round. I think it’s safe to say that we should all probably be keeping an eye on this kid.

After the jump The full fight between Yunusov and Veselki.

(Hat tip: Uproxx)

The post VIDEO: This Backflip Guard Pass Is the Coolest Thing You’ll See All Week appeared first on Cagepotato.

Oh, This? Just a Double Knockout In a 2 on 1 Russian MMA Bout [VIDEO]

A freakshow MMA fan I may be, I must admit that I’ve never quite understood the appeal of 2 vs. 1 MMA, Tag Team MMA, or anything of the like (except for Hip Show, that is!). How something as blatantly tilted and insanely dangerous as having two trained fighters team up against one can even be legalized boggles my mind, and more or less plays into the notion that MMA is a trend sport in need of exploiting (except for Hip Show!).

That being said, I won’t act like I didn’t jump out of my seat while watching this video uncovered by the UG, wherein the clearly disadvantaged fighter knocks out *both* of his opponents in roughly 3 seconds. The fight took place somewhere in Siberia, of course, and that is literally all I know about this video, and quite frankly, all I need to know. Other than the fact that 2 vs. 1 fighting will never hold a candle to Hip Show.

Hip Show.

J. Jones

A freakshow MMA fan I may be, I must admit that I’ve never quite understood the appeal of 2 vs. 1 MMA, Tag Team MMA, or anything of the like (except for Hip Show, that is!). How something as blatantly tilted and insanely dangerous as having two trained fighters team up against one can even be legalized boggles my mind, and more or less plays into the notion that MMA is a trend sport in need of exploiting (except for Hip Show!).

That being said, I won’t act like I didn’t jump out of my seat while watching this video uncovered by the UG, wherein the clearly disadvantaged fighter knocks out *both* of his opponents in roughly 3 seconds. The fight took place somewhere in Siberia, of course, and that is literally all I know about this video, and quite frankly, all I need to know. Other than the fact that 2 vs. 1 fighting will never hold a candle to Hip Show.

Hip Show.

J. Jones

EXCLUSIVE: ‘Hip Show’ Two-on-Two MMA League Coming to AXS TV on March 14th…Sponsored by CagePotato!

(Skip to the 0:45 mark to see a guy get arm-barred and heel-hooked AT THE SAME DAMN TIME. Props: AXS TV Fights)

Hip Show calls itself “two-on-two arena fighting,” but it’s more like American Gladiators meets a Russian dashcam-brawl. Instead of two guys fighting on a flat surface (borrrrrring!), it’s four guys fighting in a room full of platforms and obstacles. Seriously, this thing is absolutely insane.

CagePotato has been a longtime supporter of MMA’s freak scene, and we’re proud to announce that we’ll be the instant-replay sponsor for Hip Show’s North American television debut, March 14th on AXS TV. The broadcast will feature highlights from the league’s previous Russian events, and will be hosted by two of our old friendsCyrus Fees and Casey Oxendine. Check out the official announcement below, which was released by AXS TV exclusively to CagePotato last night…

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AXS TV FIGHTS ACQUIRES RUSSIAN MMA ‘HIP SHOW: ARENA COMBAT’ FOR A ‘BEST OF’ SPECIAL AIRING FRIDAY, MARCH 14 AT 10 P.M. ET (7 P.M. PT)

Los Angeles, February 19, 2014 – The world of mixed martial arts officially gets bigger, as AXS TV FIGHTS acquires the Russian two-on-two arena fighting show HIP SHOW: ARENA COMBAT for a “best of” special. The two-hour program makes its North American TV debut on Friday, March 14 at 10 p.m. ET (7 p.m. PT) and will include the best fights from the show’s season one lightweight and middleweight tournaments and championship finals.


(Skip to the 0:45 mark to see a guy get arm-barred and heel-hooked AT THE SAME DAMN TIME. Props: AXS TV Fights)

Hip Show calls itself “two-on-two arena fighting,” but it’s more like American Gladiators meets a Russian dashcam-brawl. Instead of two guys fighting on a flat surface (borrrrrring!), it’s four guys fighting in a room full of platforms and obstacles. Seriously, this thing is absolutely insane.

CagePotato has been a longtime supporter of MMA’s freak scene, and we’re proud to announce that we’ll be the instant-replay sponsor for Hip Show’s North American television debut, March 14th on AXS TV. The broadcast will feature highlights from the league’s previous Russian events, and will be hosted by two of our old friendsCyrus Fees and Casey Oxendine. Check out the official announcement below, which was released by AXS TV exclusively to CagePotato last night…

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AXS TV FIGHTS ACQUIRES RUSSIAN MMA ‘HIP SHOW: ARENA COMBAT’ FOR A ‘BEST OF’ SPECIAL AIRING FRIDAY, MARCH 14 AT 10 P.M. ET (7 P.M. PT)

Los Angeles, February 19, 2014 – The world of mixed martial arts officially gets bigger, as AXS TV FIGHTS acquires the Russian two-on-two arena fighting show HIP SHOW: ARENA COMBAT for a “best of” special. The two-hour program makes its North American TV debut on Friday, March 14 at 10 p.m. ET (7 p.m. PT) and will include the best fights from the show’s season one lightweight and middleweight tournaments and championship finals.

HIP SHOW: ARENA COMBAT is a two-on-two competition that takes place on a battleground aptly named “The Arena.” “The Arena” includes five different obstacles that present a realistic, urban-style of combat. Fighters look to score points through striking, grappling and controlling the obstacles. The HIP SHOW: ARENA COMBAT tournaments are contested in the 70 kilogram lightweight (about 154 pounds) and 80 kilogram middleweight (about 176 pounds) weight classes, and in a round robin format.

Internationally renowned ring announcer Cyrus Fees delivers the play-by-play and MMA veteran and coach Casey Oxendine provides color commentary throughout the program. Said Fees, “There’s nothing like making history, and I truly believe this will blow the minds of the North American MMA fan.”

HIP SHOW: ARENA COMBAT is the craziest MMA based event I’ve ever seen. Once you watch the preview clip [Ed. note: We’ve embedded it at the top of the post] you will understand why we are so excited to bring this competition to North American television,” said AXS TV FIGHTS CEO Andrew Simon.

ABOUT HIP SHOW: ARENA COMBAT
Hip Show is a Russian-based show, owned by the ProRock organization. Originated in 2012, Hip Show broadcast its first season to record ratings in Russia. Gaining unprecedented success on Russian television and receiving over a million Internet views, Hip Show produced a second season and has been green-lit for a third in Russia. The show is currently broadcast to an audience of over 14.5 million across Europe and Asia. Hip Show can be found online, on Facebook and on Twitter.

ABOUT AXS TV FIGHTS
AXS TV Fights presents more LIVE mixed martial arts and kickboxing events than any other television network with 40+ LIVE world-class fight cards each year. “The Voice” Michael Schiavello and five-time MMA world champion Pat Miletich call all the action as champions, challengers, and top prospects take center stage every Friday night at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT. AXS TV Fights can be found online, on Facebook and on Twitter. AXS TV is widely distributed in the U.S. via AT&T U-verse, Charter, Comcast/Xfinity, DIRECTV, DISH, Suddenlink, Verizon FiOS, and other cable, satellite and telco providers. The network is also carried in Canada and the Caribbean.

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Be sure to watch the action on March 14th, and stay tuned to CagePotato for more exclusive coverage on Hip Show, as the world’s greatest two-on-two MMA league continues its Westward expansion.

GIF of the Day: Russian Dude Gets KO’d By Head Kick, Eats an Illegal Self-Knee on the Way Down


(The first self-induced double KO since Hamill vs. Munoz, everybody. Gif courtesy of @ZProphet_MMA.)

While attending a charity boxing event yesterday — the cleverly dubbed “Haymakers for Hope” — my roommate and I got into a discussion about what ethnic and geographic backgrounds could be combined to make the “perfect” boxer, or MMA fighter for that matter. It was basically a hypothetical game of Racist Transformers, but is it really racist if it’s both hypothetical and rooted in positive stereotypes? I digress.

In any case, we both agreed that a Russian component would have to be in the mix somehow. While my roommate argued that a Russian-born Irishman raised in Brazil would make for a true “Ultimate Fighter” (which, considering what the average trip to the gas station can be like down there, is a sound choice), I believed a Brazilian-born Samoan raised in the desolate, hopeless tundras of Mother Russia would surely become the undefeatable killing machine prophesied in the before times. “All Russians know is despair,” I said. “And that makes them stronger.”

Last night’s ProFC 50 bout between Boris Miroshnichenko and Herman Yakubov both confirmed and denied my suspicions about the Russian people. While Yakubov, a Russian, was KO’d in the first round by his Belarusian counterpart, he also made sure to knock himself out again with his own knee on the way down, lawn chair style, and a third time when his head hit the canvas — as if to say, “Although you have damaged me, comrade, know that your damage holds not a candle to those wrought by my own devices. For what is life but the prolonging of inevitable death? And what is death, if not a face at peace…”

Crazy Russians.

J. Jones


(The first self-induced double KO since Hamill vs. Munoz, everybody. Gif courtesy of @ZProphet_MMA.)

While attending a charity boxing event yesterday — the cleverly dubbed “Haymakers for Hope” — my roommate and I got into a discussion about what ethnic and geographic backgrounds could be combined to make the “perfect” boxer, or MMA fighter for that matter. It was basically a hypothetical game of Racist Transformers, but is it really racist if it’s both hypothetical and rooted in positive stereotypes? I digress.

In any case, we both agreed that a Russian component would have to be in the mix somehow. While my roommate argued that a Russian-born Irishman raised in Brazil would make for a true “Ultimate Fighter” (which, considering what the average trip to the gas station can be like down there, is a sound choice), I believed a Brazilian-born Samoan raised in the desolate, hopeless tundras of Mother Russia would surely become the undefeatable killing machine prophesied in the before times. “All Russians know is despair,” I said. “And that makes them stronger.”

Last night’s ProFC 50 bout between Boris Miroshnichenko and Herman Yakubov both confirmed and denied my suspicions about the Russian people. While Yakubov, a Russian, was KO’d in the first round by his Belarusian counterpart, he also made sure to knock himself out again with his own knee on the way down, lawn chair style, and a third time when his head hit the canvas — as if to say, “Although you have damaged me, comrade, know that your damage holds not a candle to those wrought by my own devices. For what is life but the prolonging of inevitable death? And what is death, if not a face at peace…”

Crazy Russians.

J. Jones