ACA 204 Preview: Shlemenko Debuts, Goncharov vs. Ibragimov & Card Breakdown

Hello everyone! Welcome to this weekly discussion on the official mma-tv.com online portal. I'm Artyom Novopavlovsky. And today, joining me as experts are professional commentator Alexey Volodin and active middleweight fighter Saveliy Kurochkin. Guys, great to see you!

Hello and a warm welcome to everyone!

Oh, hello there, hi, Artyom!

Hi, Saveliy! Today's topic for discussion will be the ACA two oh four tournament, which will take place on June nineteenth. And I suggest we start with the main event of the evening, where Alexander Shlemenko will face Nikola Dipchikov. "Storm" was originally supposed to have a different opponent, but there was a replacement. Ramazan Emeev will not be competing. Saveliy, Alexey, what do you expect from this upcoming matchup? And why is it not worse than the one that was previously announced?

If you want my take on it, I can share my opinion. I honestly believe in this fight we'll see Alexander Shlemenko start wrestling, because this replacement is actually even more challenging for him than Emeev was originally. A very awkward opponent. A puncher and a southpaw, too. Whenever a southpaw fighter faces another southpaw, it is always a very uncomfortable situation for both of them. And overall, judging by Dipchikov's previous fights, his wrestling technique isn't exactly smooth or refined. He gets caught in chokes and joint locks, and Alexander Pavlovich, let's just say, is pretty good at submissions. That's why my prediction for this fight is that Alexander Shlemenko will wrestle.

I actually completely agree with Saveliy here, because Nikola Dipchikov is a very one-dimensional fighter, to be honest. At the same time, he possesses an incredibly powerful left hand, and his reach is exceptionally good. He always tries to land with his left. He does it all the time, and it often works for him. But when facing high-level wrestlers, or high-level wrestling in general, he always has problems, since Abdul-Rakhman Janaev and onwards, even though Janaev is actually a striker. And here, initially, Dipchikov was preparing for Frolov, so he was also getting ready for a striker. And in the big training camp, Dipchikov didn't really change much. So, he’s preparing for a striker like Shlemenko, preparing for a striker like Frolov. But Alexander really does have wrestling skills, and he has that guillotine. And actually, I wouldn’t just bet on wrestling—I’d even bet on a guillotine victory from Alexander Shlemenko.

Well, don’t you honestly think that this is going to be quite a significant mismatch, with Dipchikov facing Shlemenko? Yes, for example, they both have almost identical records when it comes to securing those quick finishes in the cage. Shlemenko’s fastest early finish was 25 seconds in the first round, while Dipchikov’s was 14 seconds. But even Alexander himself said that this marks the first time in his career his opponent is older than he is. And maybe this factor... will have an impact and make things even worse for him. How do you see this from your perspective?

Well, I think that for Alexander Shlemenko, the fight with Ramazan Emeev was actually more favorable in terms of both the strategic rankings and his fighting style. If you don't consider experience or winning streaks, but look specifically at styles, I believe Emeev was a more convenient opponent for Shlemenko than Dipchikov. Standing and striking with Dipchikov is really very dangerous. Shlemenko fights most of his bouts in a stand-up position. And basically, he spent his whole camp preparing to defend against wrestling. But now he has to adjust and face an exceptionally strong striker, a very powerful heavy hitter. And this is an important point: a southpaw against a southpaw is a very tricky situation for both fighters. And a lot of people underestimate this, because it will also be harder for Dipchikov to land his left knockout punch. And overall, the fight becomes more difficult for Shlemenko as well. Well, I think that together with his team, they will most likely try to take the fight to the ground, because in that fight where Shlemenko lost by knockout to Ilic—if I remember correctly, from a knee—in the rematch he adjusted and used his wrestling. That's why I think he does have wrestling skills, and we will see them. Whether it will work or not is another question, but I think Shlemenko will try to go for takedowns and, well, finish the fight early on the ground.

Alexey, another question for you. Based on your extensive experience commentating on a massive, or I would even say a huge number of high-level tournaments, if one elite fighter has 47 finishes on his record and the other athlete has 21, does that absolutely guarantee us a spectacular and explosive fight? Or is it possible that we simply cannot count on that outcome?

Yes, those are just numbers. Numbers in the passport, numbers in the stats, nothing more than numbers. Every fight is unique, every opponent is a different story. And here, a big responsibility will fall on Shlemenko, because he is entering a new league—the best league in our country, the strongest one. And this is the first tournament in Russia, in Omsk. And here, of course, there will be this moment—a full house will gather. Maybe there will be a bit more pressure on Sasha. But it's as if he doesn't have the right to make a mistake here. And if you can't afford to make a mistake, you fight more cautiously. More cautiously than usual. And this might be the moment for Alexander. Plus, Alexander has gained so much muscle mass now, he has become noticeably bigger and more powerful. It’s possible that his weight cut will be a bit more difficult this time, at least that’s how it seems to me. The training partners from Alexander’s gym said that over the course of the last few months, he’s been working very hard on improving his muscle definition, but of course, his formidable fighting skills are all still there—they aren't going anywhere anytime soon. But for me, this is definitely not a mismatch. And to consider Dipchikov as just a guy who’s definitely going to go down right at the start—no, I wouldn’t say that. It’s possible that the fight will be cautious, with gradual probing and grappling, just as Saveliy mentioned. So if you’re going to bet on a spectacular finish here, I’d probably say it would be somewhere in the second round, somewhere around there, not in the first.

The veterans are fighting in the middleweight division, and as I mentioned, we also know that you fight in this same division. If you think about the potential possibility of you fighting Alexander, how would you actually approach it, and what kind of strategy and tactics would you choose for that fight?

It would be difficult for me to go up against Alexander Pavlovich. He’s a respected man. I was still a kid when he was already fighting. I don’t know for certain, but let’s try to imagine it hypothetically. Shlemenko is a very aggressive fighter who starts his fights very aggressively. You really can't afford to get into exchanges with him, but he is rather stationary in his movement. So, most likely, I would choose a tactic of moving around the cage constantly to stay out of his range. you need to find a way to get around his lead hand, since he’s a southpaw fighter, and be very careful to watch out for his middle kicks, because he builds all his attacks off those middle kicks—he comes in with a middle kick and then immediately follows up with punches. So, increase your overall movement, work more actively with your jab to control the pace, and then, from the second round or as the fight progresses into the middle rounds, proactively seize the initiative and begin to unleash your full arsenal of strikes and combinations. But overall, this is the basic approach against aggressive, stationary fighters.

Let's move on to the next pair in this main card. At MMA Series ninety four, Savely had Dmitry Aryshev in his corner, who will be fighting against Ruslan Shamilov at this same tournament. In an interview, Dmitry mentioned that you train together. Savely, tell us how your sparring sessions with Dmitry went, and how is he approaching this fight?

During this training camp, Dima and I didn't spar much because stylistically, I'm not a great match for Shamilov, but we did a lot of sparring in preparation for Gonzalez. If you remember that fight back then, he's a tall guy, a very skilled Brazilian fighter. We did some grappling together, but he did his sparring with various other training partners. But in the grand scheme of things, that doesn't really matter much, because Dima always consistently sticks to his aggressive and highly explosive fighting style. And I'll also take a moment to note that when you fight Dima for the very first time—and I'm talking about his opponents here—it is often exceptionally difficult to adapt to that style in the ring. That is to say, even if you look closely at Shamilov's fights, and really at everyone in general, you can see that fighters need a good amount of time to truly adapt to his pace. They don't start out aggressive right away. They take their time to observe, gradually easing into the fight. Dmitry Aryshev is a completely different type of fighter. He's a fighter who starts working at a very high and explosive pace from the very first second. He can generate these bursts of energy almost throughout the entire fight and makes his opponent tire out much more than he does himself. Dima is in absolutely peak physical condition right now, remarkably powerful and resilient, and his strikes land with perfect precision and devastating force. I truly believe this will be an exceptionally tough stylistic matchup for Shamilov. Because from what I've seen of Shamilov's fights, he's a very academic and quite technical striker. Yes, he switches stances, but he chooses a more measured pace, which will be very difficult for him, because Dima will set a very high pace in the fight.

But I'll continue here, because when it comes to Shamilov, it's not exactly the same, but the fact that he just professionally wears down his opponents is one hundred percent true, and his two fights with Khiramagomedov are direct proof of that. Shamilov knows how to wait and always keeps his grappling in reserve, especially the anaconda choke. So, in the later rounds, that's just Shamilov's style. He can also step it up, so for me, this fight is one of the most interesting on the entire card in terms of sporting value. And this is one of those cases where the guys don't need any media hype—those who are in the know, those who watch the fights, they'll really enjoy this one. 100%, just 100%. For this, Dima just needs to be Dima, and Ruslan needs to be Ruslan. That's it, nothing needs to be changed, just stick to your basic settings. Will Dima's initial pressure and explosive start at the beginning of the fight break through, or will they drag it into the later rounds—who will have better stamina there, who will cut weight better, and so on. All of this is genuinely interesting in this fight. And for me, there isn't a clear favorite here. Well, probably, considering there... ...are more accolades and so on, Dima has a slight advantage. Fifty-five to forty-five. But the fight is really awesome. This matchup was a great call by the matchmakers, I think.

So tell me Alexey, what are your thoughts on this, will it go the full distance or is there a chance for an early finish at all?

Personally, I would say that I would like this fight to go the full and entire distance of the match. Because it could be a truly spectacular and awesome experience.

The fight really is awesome. But it seems that everyone keeps talking about Shamilov's impressive grappling, though most often he only uses his grappling skills when someone else tries to wrestle him. That is to say, they manage to take him down, and then he quickly comes up with something clever to respond. I don't think Shamilov's wrestling will be enough against Dima. Especially since it's not five rounds. Since it's only three rounds, I truly think both of them should have more than enough stamina to finish. Many people still tend to underestimate Aryshev's wrestling abilities, but he actually has one of the best takedown defenses in the entire Russian middleweight division. I know this because I myself am interested in the technical side of takedown defense, to be honest, just a little bit. But he really does have excellent, top-tier takedown defense, plus he has one of the best wrestling sparring partners around, and that is Vladislav 'Belaz' Kovalev. And I think this fight will take place exclusively on the feet. Shamilov might try to wrestle, but I think he'll realize that nothing is working for him and he'll have to fight standing up. This is where it gets really interesting, because Shamilov is a truly smart and strategic fighter. I've watched many of his fights, and we've even crossed paths in person at hand-to-hand combat competitions. He really fights in a very academic, intelligent way, switches stances, which also confuses his opponent. He strikes with a combination of both hands and feet. For both Dima and Shamil, it will be a very intriguing challenge that they'll have to solve.

I'd like to see the third round right away.

Now, let's discuss the next pair of fighters, the highly anticipated matchup between Evgeny Goncharov versus Khadis Ibragimov. These two athletes could easily have fought in the main event of the evening, because this is probably the most high-profile matchup of this tournament. I certainly wouldn't say it looks one-sided at all; in fact, it is quite competitive and balanced. Maybe I am wrong about that. What do you think about this? How do you see the fight going, and who do you think will win?

But regarding the media attention, I would argue with that. It's just that Alexander Pavlovich is single-handedly carrying all the media attention for this tournament. So it's all relative here. But this is also the return of Zhenya Goncharov to ACA. And here he's being given a very dangerous opponent in the form of Khadis, who also hasn't been in the league for very long. And in general, from the outside... from a fan's perspective, yes, people probably wanted to see Evgeny in the UFC, but it didn't work out, they tried to make a deal, it didn't happen, and now he's coming back, and, well, I feel like there's this vibe from the league that now they're going to test Zhenya in a different way. as tough as possible, as uncomfortable as possible. He was a dominant champion in the heavyweight division, and now, to regain that status, they're going to give him matchups that are really the most unpleasant. Because, roughly speaking, for me, if he gets past Hadis, then the next fight should be against Zhelty Ameliy, who is also in the mix right now. So that's roughly the path—not to the title, as I see it, but to a comeback. But still, after a 2 year layoff, especially for someone who's almost 40 years old. With all due respect. I understand, it's heavyweight, Zhenya is a powerhouse and so on. But Hadis is young. He's on the rise right now. He has no problems with his conditioning. He's quite honestly like a well-oiled machine. And I really do think here it's kind of... Maybe Hadis's recklessness could play a role. But this fight, honestly, could be very cautious, in my opinion. And not the most prudent.

To be perfectly honest with you, I think the opposite—for Goncharov, this is actually an advantageous fight in terms of making a comeback. There are several key factors that work against Hadis. One is that he fought just half a month or a month and a half ago. And I saw in an interview, he said he cuts about 10 kilograms before every fight. So it turns out he cut ten kilograms a month ago, and now he's cutting another ten kilograms. I literally just watched an interview recently where he said he weighs 130 kilograms. This really takes a toll on his performance and overall on his nervous system. It gets depleted. That's why this time Hadis might not have that same explosiveness. Plus, stylistically, Hadis is a typical stand-up fighter who likes to brawl. He stands in the center of the cage and just starts trading blows. When he fought back against Mazzola back then, that was entirely the wrong approach. Mazzola started moving off Hadis's line of attack, started moving to his right hand side. You absolutely can not do that, because you will definitely get caught and then knocked out. As for Goncharov, from what I see, he's a smart fighter—he doesn't linger at mid-range, he enters like a boxer, exits correctly, is constantly moving, always working the pendulum. And honestly, he moves like a middleweight, even though he weighs almost 120 kilograms. He's a very mobile, technically skilled fighter. The only thing that could work against him is simply his age, yes. Well, that's an interesting factor. If age really does play a role, then it will be tough for Goncharov. If he's still the same Goncharov he was during his championship years, Khadis doesn't stand a chance in this fight. Although I do like Khadis as a fighter. He is tough, exciting to watch, and a real warrior in the cage. But if you look at it from the perspective of their individual styles and skills, I think Goncharov is on a totally different level compared to Khadis.

So, the main question here is really whether Zhenya is still the same or not? We just don't know the answer to that question. No, wait a second, if he were still the same Zhenya, I would also give him the edge one hundred percent without any doubt. Maybe they wouldn't even have made this fight if it had happened two years ago. But now, well, anyway, it's all clear. With Khadis, it seems like everything is clear, but with Zhenya—there are still questions.

Yeah, well, it's certainly an interesting fight to look at. I also think the fight could be very boring to watch. And for three full rounds, they might just, well, basically work very tactically against each other. And Zhenya Goncharov has had fights like that. And with Vyazigin, they had a rather quiet and largely uneventful fight. Well, we truly hope it turns into a real, intense brawl and that someone finally steps up at some point, wins early.

What are your honest thoughts regarding the fact that Khadis Ibragimov is now being ranked 14th? Yes, I understand that Goncharov probably dropped out of the rankings, but now he’ll be brought back, and as I see it, he’d probably be returned to the top positions of the division. And isn’t it a bit early, so to speak, for a fighter ranked 14th to go up against a top contender right away?

But here, you see, Zhenya is coming back in a different way. He’s not following the path of just an athlete, a good athlete, who’s working his way toward the title. Zhenya is a media asset. Khadis is a media asset too. The ranking doesn’t matter here at all. And moreover, even after this fight, Zhenya will be looking more for media-driven fights than for sporting ones. He held the title, and of course, that’s the main goal. But Goncharov needs big matchups. He does not have much time left to fight at this high level. And I don’t think he’ll be fighting two or three times a year. So, basically, one fight, maybe two at most, provided that no injuries bother Zhenya. So he doesn’t have much time left, and he needs to be specifically targeting big names. And as for the rankings, I think that's secondary.

I think that nowadays MMA is developing in such a way that rankings are the last thing the league looks at, and what's more important is an interesting matchup for the viewers. If a fight is interesting and was hyped even before it was announced—and moreover, the fighters were already having some back-and-forths on social media—then I think this fight was made primarily because it was already promoted.

That's a fact, that's a fact.

Today, I would also like to discuss the upcoming fight of former MMA Series fighter Alexey Shurkevich, who will be facing off against Chersey Dudaev. This matchup is also featured on the main card. And in his recent interview, Alexey shared some thoughts about his title ambitions. He said, when I successfully pass this test against Chersey, I definitely believe that I should fight for the championship belt. Am I right in understanding that this fight is of a contender nature? Or will their ranking not allow them to fight for the title immediately if they win? Shurkevich is currently in fifth place, while Dudaev is in the sixth spot.

At this point, we need to mention that the upcoming title fight has already been pre-announced by the league. It features Albert Tumenov and Zhakshylyk Myrzabekov. Accordingly, the next top title contender might emerge from right here. But of course, there are a lot of 'ifs' to consider. There are no guarantees. Obviously, Alexey is fighting at home. At home, you know, all that. Here, everything is as simple and clear as possible, in my opinion, because Chersi has wrestled his whole life, and he won't stray from his tactics. Alexey Shurkevich is primarily a striker, and he works well against the cage. I'm particularly interested in the clinch here. Who will be better in the clinch, what kind of work will happen against the cage in the stand-up, and whether Shurkevich's knees and elbows will play a role here. Because otherwise, if the fight goes according to Chersi Dudaev's scenario, then it will be his signature takedowns—very deep, quite low. I would even say, you know, somewhat Khamzat-style takedowns. Well, that's in the ideal case. And here we'll see this dramatic clash—whose style will prevail. That's what I think.

I definitely agree with that; for Shurkevich, this is actually a very difficult stylistic matchup against Dudaev. I took a close look at the full list of Shurkevich's previous opponents in ACA. It really is a step up to a new level. And for him, this fight is like an exam in the form of Chersi Dudaev. Chersi is awkward, he's sticky, and after a takedown he doesn't let go—he'll hold on until the end, transitioning between positions. This is the most difficult and inconvenient type of wrestler for strikers like Shurkevich. That is why it is such an incredibly interesting matchup—I am curious to see exactly how they have prepared the takedown defense over at team Shtorm. Because I know that at Shtorm, they dedicate a lot of time to this kind of wrestling. But this fight is really not an easy one for Shurkevich. If he wins this fight, he rightfully becomes a top contender in the welterweight division. And after this fight, if he wins this match, I'll say he's ready to challenge for the title. Because then he'll face Jakshylyk, who has wrestling skills that are even better than Dudaev's. And here, indeed, let's say, this truly serves as a very specific kind of preparation for Jakshylyk.

That is, of course, if Albert Tumenov doesn't defeat Jakshylyk. And I think that is also a really compelling story.

That is a really good point, it's quite interesting. By the way, Tumenov genuinely caught me off guard with his impressive wrestling defense against Hasanov. I didn't expect that, because Things didn't go very well for Dima. Well, there were a lot of reasons for that, but Tumenov really surprised me with how he was able to get up from under Hasanov. So yes, for Jakshylyk, things might actually turn out to be incredibly tough in his upcoming fight against the formidable Tumenov.

I would also add here that, in fact, Chersey has one issue: towards the end, closer to the end of the fight, he does get tired. His wrestling is very energy-consuming, and in the third round, for example, against Vitaly Slipenko—yes, that fight was a while ago, but it's a good example of this—and even in his recent fight, I think Chersey wasn't breathing very well in the last five minutes either. Shurkevich can exploit this. At this tournament, there are many what seem to be classic matchups—striker versus wrestler—but in some, you'd want to see the third round. That's what I'm saying, it's like in Saratov, like here. I mean, I want to see the third round right away, because the preparation here is going to be serious. By the way, one more little detail. We won't be breaking down the Grozin vs. Khabibullin fight today, but I think it's a real gem of this tournament. And these guys are capable of stealing the whole show. I think the sparks are going to fly there like crazy.

Yeah, by the way, it's actually a particularly interesting stylistic matchup.

They are closing out the preliminary card, it turns out. Well, I think, yes, they probably deserved to be on the main card. But after all, everything at the tournament is done to put on a show. By the way, how do you think this fight will go? Because, as I understand it, there are big bets on it and the hype is just incredible.

But let me put it this way. To me, Grozin vs. Khabibullin is exactly the kind of fight that belongs on the main card. But there is a spot for the heavyweights on the main card: Vyazigin versus Mukhumat Vakhaev. There’s also Mukhumat’s return in that fight. Vyazigin hasn’t exactly had the best run lately, either. And honestly, I think the Grozin vs. Khabibullin fight Khabibullin’s fight probably should be on the main card. But of course, that’s up to the organizers and matchmakers to decide, but that’s how I would do it. I would swap that fight and put Vyazigin vs. Vakhaev in the undercard instead. Well, it is what it is, I guess.

By the way, I’m really interested in the Khabibullin vs. Grozin fight. There are a lot of factors here that I’m curious to see how they play out. Because Grozin is dropping down in weight. As I understand it, he’s moving down to featherweight. And he’s even fought at welterweight. And I think he even said in an interview that he’s ready to fight at middleweight too. But he’s quite a big guy. Khabibullin has spent his whole career... If you just take the fighters without the weight cut, I think Grozin would be the favorite, because his style is unpredictable. It seems to me that sometimes even Grozin himself doesn’t know what he’s going to throw in the moment. I know this type of fighter, I’ve sparred with them—they’re guys who just, well... They fight on some kind of euphoria, just pure instinct. They throw whatever comes to mind, and it all works for them. If you ask them why they threw that, they don’t know why they did it. It’s just some kind of instinct. And you can often see this in their fights. But Khabibullin is clearly a pressure-oriented fighter, who also possesses a solid and technical boxing background. And indeed, he likes to get into mid and close range and engage in a tight fight. And by the way, the fight is reminiscent of Grozin versus Polpudnikov. Because Polpudnikov fights in a similar style to Khabibullin, but Polpudnikov is much bigger than Khabibullin. And physically much stronger than Khabibullin. And so I'm very curious whether Grozin has worked on his mistakes after the fight with Polpudnikov. And whether he'll be able to put that into practice against Khabibullin. So, from a stylistic point of view, how much will the weight cut affect Grozin, and how much bigger will Grozin be compared to Khabibullin? And these factors, of course, are very interesting. That's what makes this fight interesting for me.

And I'll also add that Grozin actually spent most of his career fighting at featherweight, especially when he was competing in RCC, and he relied on his wrestling. So here, it feels like there's a push for Sasha to remember his fundamentals and rely on his base. Whether it will work or not, because Khabibullin is fast, he skillfully moves in and out of range from the bounce, and he works great with sidesteps. Again, it seems like this should turn out to be a spectacular fight. For fans, for experts, for coaches, and for fighters, this is also a really great fight. It's a clear win-win situation. And if we talk about the favorites and the underdogs, now Sasha has really started to believe in his powerful right hand—he just scored a knockout against that Brazilian, right? And he might go down that path and try to engage in a heavy brawl. Well, what if Sasha shuts him down? It could happen—he does shut down fighters sometimes. And then, I don't know, it seems to me that Khabibullin's boxing could come into play here. So it's really hard for me to pick a favorite. I guess I'd also give it fifty five to forty five in favor of Sasha, because he has that wrestling background, which seems stronger.

By the way, a lot of wrestlers stop using their wrestling as their careers progress. When they start out, they're wrestlers, but then they realize that... overall, they don't really like wrestling anymore. A vivid example is Gaethje, who actually has a really strong wrestling background, but now, I think if you forced him to wrestle, he just wouldn't be able to pull it off in a fight. Still, when you don't have that kind of regular practice. That's why, by the way, I wouldn't bet on Grozin's wrestling, because it's not certain that he wrestles at the same level he did at the start of his career.

That's interesting too... But there are also examples like Belal Muhammad, who put his faith in his boxing, and we can see where that led.

Thank you for sharing your opinion on the ACA 204 tournament. We'll definitely be watching it. It was good to see you again. It was a pleasure talking with you too.

Have a great day, everyone. Thank you. Thank you, Artem, for the invitation.

Vem o torneio Omsk.

And as always, we invite all our viewers to join us next week for our discussion on the mma-tv.com portal. Bye.