Aleksei Zhernakov: The RusFighters Sports Club had a very successful year

RusFighters is the most successful Russian camp since Russian Top Team. It is the home of two-time Bellator GP winner Alexander "Storm" Shlemenko, M-1 Global Welterweight champion Shamil Zavurov and the undefeated, 16-0, M-1 phenom Alexander "Tiger" Sarnavskiy. These guys are the cream of young Russian MMA with more prospects being developed under the club guidance. RusFighters is based in St. Petersburg. Translation (by me) of the interview with club vice president Zhernakov follows:

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Director of the biggest global MMA agency in Russia and CIS countries, vice-president of the professional sports club RusFighters Aleksei Zhernakov also happens to be the manager of many up and coming Russian fighters. In the present day the RusFighters Sports Club has many excellent fighters, who are watched closely by MMA fans in Russia and abroad. Aleksei Olegovich Zhernakov agreed to give an exclusive interview.

Q: What chances do you give Alexander Shlemenko in the Bellator title fight against Hector Lombard?

Z: Alexander has a very high chance. I am positive that with good preparation, Alexander is very capable of overcoming Lombard.

Q: There are rumors that three of your fighters will be performing at a tournament in Khabarovsk on the 17 of December.

Z: This is correct. Shlemenko will be in the main event. His opponent is (Herbert) "Whisper" Goodman. Andrey Koreshkov will also perform (vs. Shonie Carter) and Akop Stepanyan (vs. Dmitry Ushkanov).

Q: When does Alexander Sarnavskiy's contract with M-1 run out and what do you see in his future?

Z: As of today, the M-1 contract is active and runs through February of 2012. It is too early to talk about prospects. I'm only gonna say that they are good for Sasha (Alex).

Q: What do you see in the future for Koreshkov? Is he going to be signed with Russian organizations or will he go abroad right away?

Z: We have plans to sign with a big American promotion in the spring of 2012. In principle, we had an oppotunity to sign back in October, but we decided not to rush. In the end, Andrey is only 21, so every step of his career has to be thought over and carefully planned.

Q: Can you give an assessment of the past year? Of course, it's not over, but a lot has happened to your fighters in this year.

Z: The year for RusFighters has been very successful. Alexander Shlemenko won the Bellator GP for the second time, Andrey Koreshkov continues to win, Aleksander Sarnavskiy, Shamil Zavurov, Baga Agayev, Akop Stepanyan, other guys. We fought in many serious tournaments, a lot of new connections and opportunities have appeared.. We are growing!

Q: Do you have any personal plans for 2012? Should the Russian fans wait for another young star to appear under your wing?

Z: There are a lot of plans and they are very diverse. But, from experience, it's better to sound them out when they are actually tangible. I will only say that the year will be very satisfying and interesting!

Q: In closing, can you say something to MMA fans?

Z: I want to thank everyone for the support. It is vital to us. And we, in our turn, will try to bring you happiness as often as we can and not to disappoint!

MMAoctagon.ru

Nice.

Now to make things a level playing field... weigh fighters before the fight. Professional weight-cutters, undetected diuretic drugs and 20 lbs of intravenous saline bags should not have anything to do with the outcome of a fight. Plain and simple. Then we'd really see how the top former Soviet fighters do vs your average Zuffa MMA fighters.

Oh yeah, take away the cage and even the ring then see what you end up with. Then add yellow cards for stalling with no attempting to end the fight and we got us a fair competition for all styles of fighters everywhere.

p.s. - Zavurov is a god. If the fair thing was done and fighters were weighed just prior to the fight... GSP would have to fight at 190-200+ lbs in a fair fight by weight at the time of the fight. Haha! And I'm a canuck.

Where was I... Go Red Army!

If you haven't seen Andrey Koreshkov fight, you are in for a treat. He reminds of a younger flashier Gegard and bittersweetly will be shipped out to the American promotions, but hopefully not under an exclusive clause. My guess it will be Bellator..

not so impressed TBH but i love his jabs

^ he is only 21. His high mount was textbook..

This made me glad.

Q: When does Alexander Sarnavskiy's contract with M-1 run out and what do you see in his future?

Z: As of today, the M-1 contract is active and runs through February of 2012. It is too early to talk about prospects. I'm only gonna say that they are good for Sasha (Alex).

Dagwood wrote:Nice.

Now to make things a level playing field... weigh fighters before the fight. Professional weight-cutters, undetected diuretic drugs and 20 lbs of intravenous saline bags should not have anything to do with the outcome of a fight. Plain and simple. Then we'd really see how the top former Soviet fighters do vs your average Zuffa MMA fighters.

Oh yeah, take away the cage and even the ring then see what you end up with. Then add yellow cards for stalling with no attempting to end the fight and we got us a fair competition for all styles of fighters everywhere.

p.s. - Zavurov is a god. If the fair thing was done and fighters were weighed just prior to the fight... GSP would have to fight at 190-200+ lbs in a fair fight by weight at the time of the fight. Haha! And I'm a canuck.

Where was I... Go Red Army!

Exactly what I´ve been thinking. Send the UFC guys to Russia to fight the M-1 fighters in the ring with M-1 rules and put the weigh- ins one hour before the fight. GSP would have to face White Wolf and he would get knocked the fuck out.

Shlemenko should beat Lombard. He just needs some Sambo. He's one of the few Russians who don't have it.

brace wrote:If you haven't seen Andrey Koreshkov fight, you are in for a treat. He reminds of a younger flashier Gegard and bittersweetly will be shipped out to the American promotions, but hopefully not under an exclusive clause. My guess it will be Bellator..

I will keep an eye on this prospect.

awsome another solid guy to look out for.

Sarnvskiy has a massive test in front of him i cant wait.

goodnightirene wrote:awsome another solid guy to look out for.

Sarnvskiy has a massive test in front of him i cant wait.

Francisco Drinaldo seems to be a dangerous opponent. I´m rooting for Tiger because I want to see him against Weichel for the title.

Johan Lofgren wrote:

goodnightirene wrote:awsome another solid guy to look out for.

Sarnvskiy has a massive test in front of him i cant wait.

Francisco Drinaldo seems to be a dangerous opponent. I´m rooting for Tiger because I want to see him against Weichel for the title.

Agreed, should be an awesome fight but I am pulling for Tiger as well.

Drinaldo is a complete fighter without a lot of weaknesses. Very interesting match up.