Walker vs. Walker, Vologdin — the “Mini-Shlemenko”? Dudakova Set for PFL Debut

Hello everyone! You are watching the weekly discussion of the main news from the world of martial arts on the mma-tv.com portal. My name is Yulia Mirey. Joining me is the deputy chief editor of Okko MMA and commentator Yan Baranchuk. Hello, Yan!

Hello there, Yulia! It is always a pleasure to talk with you, as always. What should we discuss today?

Let's discuss the main news stories from this past weekend. On February fourteenth, at the Karate Combat fifty nine event, our friend Walter Walker competed in a specialized grappling match against the American Zion Clark. Everything seemed to be proceeding normally, but the incredible twist was that Zion had no legs. He is an athlete whose lower body unfortunately did not develop due to a rare genetic condition. And in college, he wrestled, achieving 33 victories against able-bodied athletes and 18 losses. Over in America, he is an incredibly famous guy—he has made it into the Guinness Book of Records three different times , and Netflix even made a full-length movie about him. So Zion Clark was threatening Walter Walker on social media, saying, like, 'You can't do anything to me—I don't even have heels, so you can't twist me up.' And Walter responded to this very directly—he decided to show him quite clearly whether he could actually do something to him or not. And so, this specific event unfolded just this past weekend. It should also be said that before this happened, Zion had already challenged our Hasbik several times. Hasbik apparently didn't agree to it, but Walter did. And what do you think, Yan—was it even worth it for Walter to go to this match?

Well, on the one hand, it is essentially a compelling media story, right? It is cool, so definitely, it was absolutely worth the effort and the time. But in matches against opponents who have certain physical characteristics, it always turns out that the healthy fighter ends up in a very complicated and incredibly tricky situation. That is, to be perfectly honest, if you win, no one will praise you—they will just say, well, you beat a disabled person, that victory means nothing at all, and so on, when you really think about it. But if you lose, then it's a complete disaster. I was instantly reminded of the performance of Nick Newell, an undoubtedly outstanding athlete, who, with only one arm, managed to build a record of several dozen professional MMA fights, and fought in major leagues like Bellator and PFL. And there, his opponents faced this very same challenging situation. The real thing is, many people simply didn't know how to approach him at all, because it seemed almost shameful to even try to hit this person. Here, first of all, we are talking about grappling, and secondly, it's a very funny story in general: Walter, who specifically specializes in heel hooks, but here in this match, there are no heels to grab. In fact, this guy made a very smart and strategic move by challenging such a formidable opponent. If we are being really meticulous and precise about the rules, I suspect that the actual weight classes were significantly different. Because, considering that the guy is missing his entire lower body, he probably weighed 20 or 30 kilograms less than Walter, perhaps even more than that, or less. But overall, I think everyone there truly enjoyed themselves. Everyone competed and tested themselves. And as for Hasbik, I understand why he refused. He probably didn't stand a chance. I saw that Black man. He’s just a mountain of muscle. He is a truly outstanding athlete. Many people, in fact the vast majority, can't even manage to get themselves into a decent level of physical fitness, even though they have two healthy arms and two legs. But he is a real star, performing out there. And it's good for Walter too. I think a lot of people in America have learned about him now.

I carefully read through the comments under the video, which, of course, began to spread almost instantaneously across the entire internet. Even the event organizers themselves called this match the most viral grappling bout in the league's history. And, as you might expect, the comments were incredibly mixed and varied. Very few people actually praised Valter. Most of the comments were along the lines of, 'He just beat up a disabled person.' And indeed, he really didn't have much chance of getting any other kind of comments. Because, on the one hand, if you lose to a disabled person, that's going to look really bad. But on the other hand, even if you win, nobody is going to give you any credit for it. So was it really worth doing, considering that your reputation, after all... took a hit.

I'm 100 percent sure that Valter knew exactly what he was getting into. And this is exactly one of those cases where negative publicity is still much better than facing total and complete silence. In fact, it's not even really bad, because any reasonable person understands the situation perfectly well. This is the world of professional sports—absolutely no one got seriously hurt in the ring, and no one's long-term health was taken away. I am quite certain they shook hands after the match concluded and happily went off to spend the fees they earned from this fight. Well, and if someone truly thinks there is more to it, they are simply mistaken about how these professional athletes handle their business. Maybe the complaints should be directed at the organizers, for bringing in people like this and making them compete, and so on. Although, to be perfectly honest, 'making them' is probably not the right choice of words either. It is highly unlikely that anyone literally took their own family members hostage and forced them to fight in the conflict.

"Well yes, indeed, it is certainly true that Walter treated him very gently, almost as if he were a small child. He even went so far as to choke him very gently, if you can actually say such a thing about one person choking another. But what is also particularly interesting is that immediately after this fight, Valter Walker challenged his very own brother Johnny to a formal and serious duel. Supposedly, Johnny was unable to meet with him in person, and even made several disrespectful remarks about his wife

Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised at all, because knowing their personalities, knowing how much they love public attention, it's possible they just agreed on this, are putting on a show, and are simply trying to attract attention. Or maybe, who knows, something really did happen between them, some kind of major falling out. Either way, whether it's grappling in Karate Combat or competing in the UFC— because right now Johnny Walker isn't doing so well in the light heavyweight division— I wouldn't be surprised if he shows up in the heavyweight division. It's just that usually brothers don't want to fight each other. But here, if they can hype up a story about a feud between two brothers, that would be truly epic. Now, these two brothers will meet in the octagon, fighting not for life, but to the death. That's a cool story. I think people will love it.

I remember once, during an MMA Series tournament where you were providing the commentary, Valter and Johnny faced off against each other. That encounter took place right after Walter had secured another victory within our ongoing series. So, the first round of their confrontation has already happened. If you remember that, what do you think a real fight would look like if it actually happened right now?

Well, in a real fight— I don't really know, but I honestly think that Johnny, even though he's smaller in size, would actually stand a pretty good chance. Because despite all of Valter's power, he is clearly outmatched by Johnny Walker's speed. And let's not forget the fact that in MMA, Johnny is significantly more experienced, including his performances in the UFC. I think that if it's grappling, then Walter would definitely be a very strong favorite, because in wrestling, weight really does play a massive and decisive role. But we know how Valter has also significantly improved his jiu-jitsu skills lately. However, if they were to compete under official MMA rules within the UFC, even in the competitive heavyweight division, I believe Johnny would have a pretty good chance of scoring a knockout victory.

Oh, it really would be fascinating to observe, but let's just hope that everything turns out perfectly for the brothers in their lives. We wish both of them victories, considering that their next fights are already scheduled, which we will see within the next two months, if I'm not mistaken, in the UFC. Now, let's move on to our next story. Mark Vologdin, who has competed eight times in the MMA Series organization, starting from his second professional appearance in the octagon, has earned a record of five wins and three losses with us. Then he became the bantamweight champion of the AFN league. And on October seventh, twenty twenty five, at Dana White's Contender Series, after a bloody, viral brawl with Juan Martinetti, he earned a contract with the UFC. His first fight in this league is scheduled for April eighteenth against the American John Castaneda. You have commentated on several of Mark's fights in the MMA Series. What was he like back then? And what did you think of him? Was it possible to imagine that he would make it to the UFC?

He was widely recognized for his uncompromising style and his unrelenting passion for delivering significant physical damage to his opponents, though, of course, not always for his flawless defense. I think it was precisely this style that ultimately brought him to the UFC, because you can't really call Mark a superstar, but it's telling that even after losing the fight to Martinetti, he still ends up in the organization and gets a contract. That's a rather rare situation. And, by the way, it fits into the general trend that the UFC leadership is now pushing on us—well, 'pushing' is probably not the best word, but they're definitely promoting it in every way: you can lose, but you have to fight in an entertaining way. Then you'll get to compete in our organization. You can win, you could have a seven to one or eight to zero record, whatever, and we'll kick you out if your fights aren't entertaining. There are plenty of examples now—Muhammad Mokaev, Martin Buday, and Jailton Almeida—who ended up outside the UFC, even though they were in the top 10 or top 5, but because their fights weren't exciting. The same goes for Movsar Evloev, who keeps getting sidelined, even though he's in the number 1 spot. And Mark Vologdin, who simply loses in the Contender Series, gets a contract, and is immediately given a very tough opponent in John Castaneda. He is, I would say, a classic and quintessential example of the Latin American school of fighting, with all the inherent strengths and various weaknesses that naturally come with it. And it seems to me that the primary focus here is precisely on making this upcoming fight as thrilling and spectacular as it can possibly be for the audience. For Mark, this represents a truly exceptional and highly promising debut performance in the ring. Why? Because they're not pitting him in a match against some prospect who's on an exceptionally impressive winning streak, which has often happened to our guys in recent times. Take Andrey Pulyaev, for example, who was just thrown to the wolves against some monsters. But here, it turns out that Castaneda is pretty much an average fighter, he likes to brawl, he's versatile, but this also gives Mark a good chance—not only to win, but also to put on a very good and entertaining fight, and to make a name for himself not just in the Contender Series, but directly at a UFC event.

Is a person's strength of character visible right from their first walk into the octagon, or is it something that, like all other muscles, also needs to be developed? I've seen a couple of his fights here. Basically, he really has always liked to brawl. But did he have that superpower, the ability to keep fighting until he literally passes out?

I really think that he did. Mark is precisely the type of individual you can call a true natural-born fighter. That is to say, he is someone who is always prepared to engage in those incredibly brutal slugfests and so on. Because psychologically, just like people in any other profession, fighters are also divided into different categories. And there are cold-blooded people, for whom emotions actually get in the way. There are those who don't like taking damage, and for them it's just a job, where skill is shown precisely by not taking unnecessary hits. But Mark approaches the art of fighting with an intense passion, and it becomes evident that for him it is something much more akin to... something like a total war. In this sense, he can be compared to Alexander Shlemenko, albeit as a smaller version. I still want to draw a comparison between him and Petr Yan, but even way back in 2014, when we first saw Petr Yan in the ACB Grand Prix, it was already very clear to everyone watching that he would eventually become an incredible star in the future. With all due respect, Mark doesn't have that kind of talent, but as you noted, he does have an incredible character. And fighters like that also become stars. However, their path is usually much more difficult.

And what is your personal prediction for the upcoming fight?

I don't think there are any clear-cut favorites here, but we will definitely be rooting for Mark to come out on top. And I'm going to go ahead and just throw out a guess right now. I think Mark will win by decision, and both fighters will walk away with a one hundred thousand dollar bonus for the Fight of the Night.

Let's certainly hope for that. Another piece of news. Viktoria Dudakova, a talented fighter who has become quite well-known recently in the world of Russian mixed martial arts, will have her next fight on March 20th at a PFL event in Madrid, and her opponent will be the Australian Jacinta Austin. For Victoria Dudakova, this bout will be her very first in her overseas career after being released from the UFC. And what do you think about this, just briefly—can this young girl, who didn't quite make it in the UFC, truly realize her full potential and actually do it in the PFL?

She definitely has a very strong chance of winning this. Viсtoria is truly a striking girl, both in terms of her remarkable physical appearance and her impressive, technical fighting skills. It just happens sometimes in this sport that, maybe things don't go exactly as planned, or perhaps... It is simply that a significant part of her professional UFC career happened to coincide with some difficult personal upheavals and various other things. She had one particular fight, if I am not mistaken about the details, in the Open FC promotion. Once there, her opponent was someone she defeated quite easily and very quickly in the cage.

That was after her return, right?

Yes, yes, yes. And the PFL seems to me, perhaps, to be that very organization that could become... the most comfortable and fitting option for Viсtoria at this particular stage of her career. Why? Because overall, it turns out that the UFC has a very high level of competition, while PFL, on the contrary, is now currently building up its roster, including female fighters. They only have 1 particularly strong weight class, which is up to 57 kilograms. And it seems to me that overall, Victoria will be able to compete quite effectively in this weight class. There are a few stars there. In a fight, for example, against Dakota Ditcheva, I think Viktoria has a very slim chance of winning. That is, most likely, she will likely end up losing. But if you look at everyone else in the division, then why not? Those could be very good fights. And as an option, sooner or later she might reach a contender or title fight. The PFL holds tournaments regularly. We are broadcasting these matches. So, the entire Russian audience will also be able to watch and enjoy all of Victoria's fights. So, overall, everything is great. Compared to the UFC, this might even be a step forward, for example, in terms of pay. Because it remains an open question of what is truly better for Victoria: to play second or third fiddle in the UFC, or perhaps to take a leading role in the PFL. And in terms of the financial side, she might not only earn a comparable amount, but potentially even more in the PFL.

Yes, the classic philosophical question. Where exactly is it better? Yan, do you happen to know if, following that highly scandalous incident when she hit her coach during her most recent UFC fight, did she change her coaching staff or will she still be coming out with the same team?

No, actually, that is not the case... She did not change her coach at all, simply because her coach is also her husband. And then there were some very touching... There were... It wasn't made public at first. And then, from what I have been able to gather, she eventually made a very detailed public statement on social media where she said, 'This is my personal husband and so on, these are just our difficult private family issues, we will get through everything together and everything will be just fine eventually in the long run.' And of course, she continued... Essentially, she has made the decision to continue working with this current coaching staff.

Wishing everyone love for the past February 14th. Well, I think these are pretty positive news. And overall, the video discussion turned out to be quite fun. And with that, we'll wrap up. Thank you. See you next week.

Thank you. All the best.