Akhmed Sultanov: One more step towards M-1 Selection title

It took only 1:28 for Legion team member Akhmed Sultanov to force young heavyweight prospect Denis Goltsov to tap and advance to the final of M-1 Selection heavyweight tournament. Now he is preparing for the most important fight in eight-man tournament against undefeated Estonian giant Denis Smoldarev.

- Akhmed, did everything go according to your plan? Did you learn your opponent well enough?

– Last November we fought on the same tournament in Ufa, me and Goltsov won our fights by triangle, though he is better known as the striker. But I didn’t make any changes in my training specially for the fight with Denis, not at all

- Who is your main coach now? What did he do to prepare you for that fight?

– My main coach is Islam Karimov, but there were a lot of people, who participated in my preparations. Some sparring partners worked with me on the ground, some – in stand-up. That’s how we usually prepare for the fight. Today our guys help me as sparring partners, tomorrow I will help them. It was just my normal training routine, maybe I just worked more on my favorite moves

- How did you start your career in sport?

– My father and my brothers, like almost all men in Dagestan, participated in some amateur wrestling tournaments. My family moved to small village, when I was six. I didn’t have the possibility to train in martial arts, so I started from the other sports, but I always wanted to wrestler, to become stronger. Then, after high school, I choose the college, where I can train Greco-Roman wrestling. I became the master of sport in three years, then I went to army in 2002 and trained sambo and hand-to-hand combat

- Do you remember your first tournament?

– I was only 17, they put me on amateur wrestling tournament against the adult sportsmen. My first fight was against World Cup winner, so, of course, I lost

- How did you make your move to MMA?

– I watched Fedor Emelianenko’s fights after when I came back from army. A lot of people wanted to know which martial arts is the best, I wasn’t an exception. So, when I watched MMA fight for a first time, I got hooked. That was exactly what I needed. I’m not saying that it’s the best kind of sport, but you can show all your fighting skills here, both on the ground and in stand-up

- Is your sherdog record right?

– No, it isn’t. According to it, I have only 16 fights, but I have 28 fights actually

- Which of your fights was the most memorable for you?

– I think, the toughest fight for me was against Eric Pele. Before that fight my opponents had the same level as me, but Eric was much better than any of them. His weight was about 130 kg, my weight was 105 kg, plus I had fever right before the fight, but I didn’t want to refuse to fight. I can’t say that I have very good striking technique, back then it was even worse. Nevertheless, we fought all 15 minutes and I won by unanimous decision

- Do you prefer to wrestle with your opponents?

– Actually, I like stand-up fights more, but usually my opponents have better striking technique, so I have to take them down

- Do your family like what you do?

– They are very nervous about it, so I prefer to tell them the results of my fights when they are over

- So, they didn’t even know that you were fighting in St.-Petersburg?

- I think, my brothers knew about it, but I’m not sure about my parents

- What are you going to do, when your sportsman career will be over?

– It’s not easy to say anything about your life after fights, when you are active fighter. I will think about it, when I will have to retire. Hopefully, it will not be soon. I don’t think that I will be coach, because it’s too difficult to raise young fighters and then see them going elsewhere when they become the stars. Coach’s job is something that you have to do for the rest of your life. I understand that and I don’t think I’m ready for that. But, of course, I will always share my experience and knowledge with young fighters, when they need it

- What goals in MMA do you have at the moment?

– I can tell you that my main goal right now is to win M-1 Selection tournament. Then we will see, what is going to be next for me

- When during the fight did you feel that you can win?

– I didn’t have any doubt before and during this fight. I knew that I have to do a lot to win, but I was always sure that I will do it. I had a couple of moves that I can do in this fight, including heel hook. I realized that I won only when referee told me to stop. I need to win M-1 Selection tournament, then I can have a couple of good fights in M-1 Challenge and then hopefully I will have a chance to fight for M-1 Challenge title. My opponent in semifinal, Denis Goltsov, is a very good fighter, you can see his progress from fight to fight, and he is still young, so I’m sure he has bright future in MMA

- In other words, there is the possibility of your second fight with him in the future?

– I wouldn’t like it, to be honest with you. This victory means that I got to the higher level as the fighter, so I would like to fight against the toughest opponents and climb up in rankings. Though, it’s not easy to expect anything in our sport, life of the fighter is not even a game. It’s a fight, and every fight is always tough.

http://www.m-1global.com/2012/07/04/akhmed-sultanov-one-more-step-towards-m-1-selection-title/