Dancing with the Red Devil: Part 2
ST. PETERSBURG, Russia -- When in a new place, one of the surest ways to find something out is to start a conversation with a taxi driver.
Over the years this has become a personal hobby of mine, and of course I tend to ask about MMA. In Russia, over the last year, grassroots knowledge of the sport has definitely improved if you go by the cabby litmus test. It also depends where you are. In Stary Oskol -- Fedor Emelianenko (Pictures)'s hometown -- you'd have to try hard to find someone who hasn't heard of him or MMA. In Moscow it's unfortunately the opposite.
Yesterday in St. Petersburg, however, my taxi driver pleasantly surprised me by extolling on the virtues of the Emelianenko brothers and even knew of the mysterious third brother, Ivan. This is definitely knowledge beyond the call of duty.
Ivan Emelianenko, 19, is so low-key, the American producers working in St. Petersburg with M-1 Mixfight didn't know that he was based at the center -- or even what he looks like. I know Ivan from my last visit, and because I am sharing a room with him this time around. The long locks and childish manner have both disappeared; he's more reserved, stoic. Though I notice he is still popular with the girls.
The physical and personality features of his older brothers are much more pronounced in him now. All that remains to be seen is whether he will follow in their footsteps. Physically he's more similar to Aleksander's makeup but still has the lankiness of youth, as he is yet to put on the slabs of muscle and padding of Aleks and Fedor. Lastly, I can also report that he doesn't snore.
I am very thankful to say that the weather has been great all day here, if a little windy. I think everything for tomorrow night will be fine. It's amazing how much of a difference it makes to one's supporting of fighters if you've had a chance to live with them for even a few days, watch them horse around, talk about trivial worries and problems and have them generally accept you into their tight-knit group. You become aware of the little impulses, facial expressions, reactions that say so much more. This was interesting to see at the weigh-ins today.
Held on a luxurious schooner called the "Flying Dutchman," which will also host Friday's M-1 Challenge series event, the weigh-ins lacked the showmanship and overzealous acting often seen at larger American or Japanese events. There was no bad blood to be (almost) settled before the (almost-brawling) parties were theatrically held back by their teams and officials. There weren't the murderous staredowns. In fact, there were no stare downs at all. What did take place, though, was the quiet, sly appraising of opponents.
The Spanish team is comprised of Carlos Valeri, Juan Manuel Suárez, Eulogio Fernández, Rafael Rodríguez and Rogent Lloret. The Finns are Niko Puhakka (Pictures), Janne Tulirinta (Pictures), Lucio Linhares (Pictures), Niklas Winber and Jarno Nurminen.
We are used to top contenders fighting each other. Men who know everything there is to know about each other and then some. When they step into the same room to be weighed, they see each other for the umpteenth time, and there is no mystery.
Here things are a little different, however. There are no flamboyant champions with stacks of DVDs and YouTubes full of highlight reels. The Russians saw their opponents' fights only if they had seen them fight live before or found them on the Internet. As a result, most haven't seen their opponents in action. They may know that one is a striker and one a Greco-Roman wrestler, but that's about it.
And this is what makes the weigh-in so interesting. Ahmed Sultanov, who last year took a well-deserved majority decision over Eric Pele (Pictures), quietly mentioned how impressed he was with his opponent. Rogent Lloret of Spain is a very lean and cut 230 pounds and was by far the biggest fighter on the "Flying Dutchman" today. Though he has an 0-1 record, he's somewhat of a mystery, especially since the Russians haven't seen him fight. All they know is that he is a European BJJ champion and that he is very skilled at, and favors, the choke in all its permutations.
Perhaps the strongest of the Finnish fighters is Niko Puhakka (Pictures), who holds a formidable record of 18 fights with 12 wins. Puhakka has a shaven head and tattoos all over, including on his face. The knuckles on his right hand say "SKIN" and his left "HEAD." He faces Mikhail Malutin, who is far from the Aryan dream, and I'm not saying that there is anything in this, but it certainly made for an interesting time today.
Everything else went according to plan, and soon I was making my way back to the training center with Fedor Emelianenko and Red Devil team trainer Vladimir Mihailovich Voronov, or as we all call him, Mihailych. We had a long time to talk. He told me of perhaps their general philosophy in training, one that underpins everything else.
It's the five-second in 40 concept. Basically the idea is that fighters can explode for around five out of every 40 seconds or so without expending all of their energy. It doesn't matter whether it's on the feet or on the ground, but they should only look to work at full speed and at full extension for five to seven seconds. The use of this concept to its fullest extent is about the most Mihailych thinks you can ask of a fighter during the fight. If worked out to perfection in training, the idea is that fighters will be fresh for the duration of the match and have more of a chance to overpower their opponents in the later rounds. It also gives them almost maximum strength for almost every attack.
Mihailych also spoke of Fedor's preparation for Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic and the way Emelianenko can carry this concept but for 10 to 15 seconds in every 40, which very few are capable of. He also discussed the way they had planned a head kick in the third round of the Cro Cop fight, after almost no high kicks for the whole match. During their match Cro Cop instinctively brought his hand up to block the kick. This same strategy was mirrored by one Gabriel Gonzaga (Pictures) some time later, with results that most will remember.
Coming back to the center, I was just in time for Aleks Emelianenko's wrestling and submission training. Though he has previously been criticized by, amongst others, his older brother for not being focused enough or devoting enough time to training, I don't think that can be said now. He worked through five hard, continuous rounds of grappling. Swapping in a fresh opponent for each round (admittedly they were all slightly to somewhat smaller), he looked focused and impressive. Particular attention was paid to fighting off his back, both with an opponent in guard and in full mount. Watching Aleks training, one can't help but think that Paul Buentello (Pictures) better be taking his training camp very seriously and preparing for every eventuality.
It's close to midnight now, and most of the fighters have gone to sleep, preparing for Friday and the fights Friday night. That they managed to pull themselves away from the semifinal between Russia and Spain in the Euro Football Championships is testament to their dedication. It is the first time in more than 20 years that Russia has advanced so far, which makes their abstaining comparable to huge sports fans not watching the Super Bowl. It should also be noted that half of the fighters here are fighting with Spaniards tomorrow, which tonight's game will definitely add some fireworks to, win or lose.
I have a few more observations before I bid you goodbye for the penultimate day from St. Petersburg. Russians love photos. Everywhere that can be considered scenic, you will find men and women, the elderly and children taking thousands of photos of each other, often in terribly cheesy poses. Russian fighters are not immune.
Note to Russians: I am soon going to start charging by the hour. I'm getting that many photo requests. They also love YouTube, but frequently there are English language issues with using it. As with the photography, I will also start charging for YouTube fight searches soon. The last thing that Russians love is their version of Facebook: Odnoklassniki (translated "old classmates"). Almost every single person here, including both of Fedor's coaches, Voronov and Michkov, have profiles and spend a lot of time online.
And on that note, I leave you for another day. Friday promises downtime before the evening and the fights themselves. Everyone is hoping the city turns it on for what has to be one of the most beautifully set MMA events in the world.
