Robbed of the win? Kuznya coach breaks down the Kolesnik vs. Takeda fight

Hello everyone! You're watching the weekly discussion on the mma-tv.com channel. My name is Julia Mirei, and on March seventh at the RIZIN tournament in Japan, MMA Series graduate Viktor Kolesnik, with a record of twenty-six wins, five losses, and one draw, faced off against Koji Takeda. A record of eighteen wins and eight losses. And after three full rounds, Takeda was declared the winner. Viktor's team strongly disagrees with the judges' decision. And joining me now is the coach of the Kuznya fight club, where Viktor trains, Nikolai Nikitenko. Nikolai, hello and welcome to the show.

Hello there, and a warm welcome. Greetings to everyone here.

I carefully watched Viktor's entire fight, and it really seemed to me that he actually could have taken that first round. But as for the other two rounds, at least as it appeared to me from the outside, it looked like they clearly went to Takeda instead. Why does the team feel that Viktor was robbed?

You know, we generally do not make a habit of disputing the judges' decisions. It is just not something that is typically considered standard practice in this sport at all. But we certainly do maintain our own very distinct perspective on the entire matter. First of all, the identity of the opponent was quite unexpectedly changed right before the fight began. Secondly, the weight classes involved were actually quite a bit different. And regarding the rules, there were changes, well, maybe you can't really call them changes, there were several new additions to consider. And the primary focus was on the fact that physical damage would be the most important factor in the scoring. In this specific fight, the final decision would be based specifically on the visible presence of damage. Viktor had an exceptionally strong first round. I truly believe that he completely and decisively won that opening round. In the second round, of course, he realized it would be difficult with Viktor. And he tried to impose his own style of fighting. He kind of controlled him, stalled the action. But frankly, it looked like stalling because there was no active movement and... In reality, there wasn't any real damage inflicted during that exchange either. Because while one fighter was constantly attacking, the other was focused on defending, and there was no direct damage to speak of at all. But if you look at it from the outside, specifically through the eyes of a casual spectator, and especially the local crowd, of course, against the backdrop of a very active first round, those messy second and third rounds certainly didn't look like they were in Viktor's favor. However, if you truly break it down, and if you look closely at the points and the official rules, then it's clear Viktor didn't actually lose the fight.

Could you explain in a bit more detail about what these rule changes were? Are they exclusive to RIZIN, or are other leagues also adopting this method of judging?

Well then, I most likely misspoke. It's not a change in the rules. It's at the briefing, a judges' briefing, a seminar held before the fight. And there, the focus was placed on the fact that damage would be evaluated. It's more local, well, more in Rizin. I think it was done with an emphasis on making the fight more exciting, more spectacular. Well, the audience loves that. I think it was for that purpose. Although Viktor's fights are generally all exciting, spectacular, and powerful.

And about the change in weight category. Why did that happen? Will Viktor always compete like this now? Or please tell us about this too.

No, the guys actually met the opponent halfway, they met the entire organization halfway, and they met the opponent halfway again. Just a few short days before the big fight, his entire team... opponent, the one Viktor was preparing for. I understand that he was involved in a serious accident. It is no secret to anyone at all. I remember seeing this news report mentioned somewhere in the media. And on short notice, they put up a second opponent. Of course, it's also a very difficult and unpleasant moment because you prepare specifically for one person, and then they suddenly give you someone else. And I've heard a lot of talk, and I've heard the commentators say, and even the guys say, that it doesn't really matter who the opponent is, as long as you are well-prepared for the fight. That's all understandable, of course. But athletes and fighters will understand me. When you prepare for an orthodox fighter and they give you a southpaw a few days before, it fundamentally changes the fight. Fundamentally. And preparation for a southpaw opponent, of course, should always be handled separately. I think that... this factor also played a significant role, and that is why the fight turned out to be a bit, well, messy. Viktor couldn't find himself in this fight in such an exciting, spectacular way because, of course, it's hard to work with a southpaw. Especially when you've prepared, your whole camp was for an orthodox fighter, and then suddenly, they give you a southpaw a few days before.

What are Viktor's career plans going forward?

"To step into the ring and fight, to compete, to pursue the world title, and finally to win that gold belt. Viktor is used to it

Nikolai, you have many guys in your club competing on the international stage. Are there any new announcements?

The guys are all constantly in the training process. But right now, the closest thing we're waiting for is, of course, Oleg Popov. It really seems like a major fight is being planned for him . It's still too early to give any information. But there are rumors.

And with whom?

I honestly don't know right now. They are not really saying anything to us just yet. It's all far too early. Everything is still in the works at this point. But as soon as there is a more concrete and detailed conversation, we will definitely bring every single part of this information into the full view of the general public.

So, when exactly?

I think it'll be closer to summer.

But are we really talking about PFL or some other league?

As far as I know, yes.

Alright, thank you very much, Nikolay, for sharing your thoughts on the news and commenting on, maybe, not such good news as we all would have liked. I truly hope that next time we speak we'll have a much more positive reason to talk.

All the good news is still ahead of us. Thanks for having me.