Transcript
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Nikolai "The Victor" Aniketos entered to
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Dimitri "The Yeti" Korolev entered to
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This match pitting "The Yeti" vs "The Victor" was amazing. It went 3 rounds, in an exciting affair. Billed as one of the top matches of the night, Russia born Sambo / Kickboxing-stylist Nikolai "The Victor" Aniketos was set to square off against Sambo / Sanda practicioner Dimitri "The Yeti" Korolev. While Nikolai is known for his electrifying Sambo / Kickboxing skills and non-stop attacks, "The Yeti" is a cat-quick Sambo / Sanda fighter who will also bang. The general consensus at ringside among MMA "experts" was that "The Yeti" would simply be too polished for Nikolais Sambo / Kickboxing background; so much for "expert" opinions.
Aniketos is grinning and Korolev is serious. Man, I can't believe the great crowd ovation for Aniketos. Nikolai "The Victor" Aniketos looked calm and confident as the ref ran down the rules of the fight. Dimitri "The Yeti" Korolev in comparison looked eager to get the fight started. Now, the interesting part about this fight is, Nikolai is a very smart fighter. He knows exactly where he wants to take the fight, and isn't afraid to trade punches with "The Yeti" until he gets there. The question is, will the standup portion of the fight fare well for Nikolai, or will he get caught with a knockout punch? I guess we'll have to wait and see.
Korolev lands two shots to start off the round. Both guys content to stand for a bit. Korolev goes for a shoot, "The Victor" sprawls it out. Korolev steps in and out with a fast combo, Nikolai places a solid push kick on Korolev. Aniketos briefly fends off an attack by Dimitri "The Yeti" Korolev and they separate. Dimitri lands half a dozen hard straight punches, clinching against the cage. Both exchange some shots to the body.
Aniketos is bleeding badly. No punch looked bad but there is blood all over Korolev from Aniketos. End round 1.
In round 2 Dimitri "The Yeti" Korolev came out and displayed his ever-improving stand-up skills in dominating fashion. "The Victor" scores a takedown then stands back up and delivers more punishment via punches to Dimitri. Aniketos lands a nice jab to Dimitri's head. With 30 seconds remaining, Dimitri scores a takedown. Just before the bell, Aniketos nearly forces a tap from a head lock.
Both fighters touch gloves to start the round and Dimitri quickly lands a right hand. Nikolai "The Victor" Aniketos shoots in and clinches with Dimitri. Dimitri checks an outside kick, and follows up with a high kicks that connects. "The Yeti" showing nice footwork, never staying in front of Aniketos for too long. "The Yeti" was getting a little too aggressive here in his attacks, and "The Victor" was able to land the crucifix which was tight enough that "The Yeti" tapped out at 02:49.
It was a tactical fight, both were fighting well, the announcers said after the fight. Nikolai was just able to make him Dimitri "The Yeti" Korolev play into his game. When asked who he would like to fight next, "The Victor" responded with the usual names, Kenzi "The Red Dragon" Suzuki, Pete "Zig-Zag" Zimmerman and "The Myrmidon" Gilson Aurelio. He also made sure to note though, that he would fight anyone anywhere, and was ready to take on anyone the EPIC threw at him.