Aleksander Emelianenko (Russia) vs Jeff Monson (USA)
CSKA Arena (Moscow)
On February 23, Moscow will host a bare-knuckle fight Russia vs the United States. Aleksander Emelianenko and Jeff Monson will face each other in the main event of the night.
Aleksander Emelianenko: «I don't care who I fight» ©
After Emelianenko was sentenced to prison, he lost his manager, many fights and fight offers. But a contract with Monson was signed a long time ago, and this fight will take place. It will be Aleksander's bare-knuckle debut, but it doesn't matter much - his opponent is purely symbolic and it's unlikely to be a problem for him.
Emelianenko had his last fight in November by MMA rules and lost in the first round by a choking hold to Marcio Santos.
Prior to that, he had boxed amateurs of varying caliber and won, but not very convincingly. Judging by his Instagram and the way he looks when he appears in public, Aleksander's form is pretty good right now. Well, as good as is possible at his age and lifestyle.
Jeff Monson: a gamble with no chance of survival
Apparently, Jeff has no money at all to go on such a venture. It is believed that he would lose the last vestiges of his health, which he already has very little.
Monson hasn't fought anyone in the ring or cage in a long time, unless you count his "fight" in the fall with Timur Nikulin. Then the famous pop-MMA fighter treated the honored veteran very respectfully, didn't beat him much and didn't finish him, although such opportunities came up regularly.
Monson himself, of course, is very determined, but you can be sure that all that determination will evaporate once he gets in the ring.
«I work out every day, I have a great trainer. If the fight was boxing with gloves, Emelianenko would win. But if bare-knuckled, I would win, it's a totally different sport. The fight with Nikulin was not a serious one, and this one is very important to me, and it's very important for me to win.»
Jeff Monson
Tale of the tape
When comparing the objective measurements of the opponents, you can see Emelianenko has advantage in each of the indicators. This also applies to anthropometric data.
| Measurement | Emelianenko | Monson |
|---|---|---|
| Age | 40 | 51 |
| Height (cm) | 193 | 175 |
| Weight (kg) | 115 | 108 |
Expert Betting Tips
1xbet analysts, just like the rest of the fighting world, do not see a single chance for Jeff Monson in the main fight of the night. The odds on his victory are as high as 3.84, while Aleksander Emelianenko's win is estimated at 1.228.