Victory Night for Chechen Fighters in Poland
Warsaw, the capital of Poland hosted one of Europe’s biggest MMA organizations, “Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki 15”. The Chechen fighters, Mamed Khalidov and his cousin Aslambek Saidov defeated their opponents.
On the evening of March 19th, eighteen MMA fighters performed at Torwar Hall in Warsaw. During the night, three Poland-based fighters defeated their foreign opponents. Two of the winners have Chechen origins: Mamed Khalidov and Aslambek Saidov.
Mamed Khalidov (22-4-2) who was recently granted Polish citizenship, fought in the 93 kg category against American fighter, James Irvin. Khalidov began the fight in typical fashion by throwing a spinning heel kick. He missed and dropped to his back, where Irvin gave chase and threw powerful shots. Khalidov composed himself and swiftly rolled into an arm bar that had the American – who weighs 7 kg more than Mamed – tapping at the 33-second mark and the fans screaming with excitement. Mamed once again proved that he is one of the most talented and unpredictable athlete in MMA.
Mamed Khalidov’s cousin, Aslambek Saidov (10-2-0), won the evening’s competitive, grappling-heavy opener with a unanimous decision against Ruben Crawford. Saidov pressed for takedowns and brought the fight to the floor on multiple occasions. Crawford, however, did well to maintain guard and even threatened with submissions from his back. After 15 minutes of back-and-forth, all three judges awarded the bout to Saidov.
“It is MMA and we are gladiators, so the weight of my opponent didn’t frighten me. I saw the support from the Polish people throughout the night, thus I am very happy that I won for Poland,” said Khalidov after the match.
Mamed Khalidov vs James Irvin:
Aslambek Saidov vs Ruben Crawford:
*Text was written by Waynakh Online and edited by Michael Capobianco