realkaps
03-27-2003, 08:58 AM
HF: Hello, Igor!
Igor: Hi!
HF: How are you doing, when are you going to fight again?
I: I am almost 100% recovered. I think if everything goes fine I’ll be in the next Pride. And how are you guys doing?
HF: We are fine, thanks. After publication of your interview we received a lot of questions and kind words about you. Are you ready to tell your fans about the details of your life that they are interested in?
I: Yeah, why not? I don’t have any secrets.
HF: Great. Let’s start it?
I: OK
HF: First of all a lot of your fans from the USA say hi to you. Here is a list of questions from Attjack (from The Underground Forum). Do you have any idea why Dana White said that you retired from fighting? Where could he get this information?
I: I have no idea. Maybe he knows something that I don’t know (smiles). I don’t have any contact directly with promoters. My manager, Eugenia Borshevskaja does it for me. I know that there were some proposals from the UFC, but one thing I know for sure – I did not announce my retirement. You better speak to Eugenia about contacts with promoters and invitations to tournaments, she’ll give you more complete information about this kind of stuff. I rely on her completely.
HF: Well, does it mean that you have not heard about Battleship promotion, it was announced that they contacted you concerning your participation in their tournament?
I: No. Maybe they contacted Borshevskaja, but I don’t know about them.
HF: Next question: Do you still consider for yourself to become a LHW?
I: It is not easy for me to go down the weight. There is a weight where you feel yourself the most comfortable. Now I weight 100 kilos, so I think I’ll stay at HW for a while. But I don’t deny the possibility to become a LHW, considering my height, it would be much easier for me to fight there.
HF: When was the last time you weighted 96 kilos?
I: 96? Approximately 6 years ago. In 1996, to be accurate.
HF: Your opponent in Pride 17 Mario Sperry became LHW. In case you do the same, would you like to fight him again and avenge your loss?
I: I don’t feel that bad about my losses to dream about revenge. In case I fight Mario again, it would be just another fight, and I won’t look back at Pride 17. Why should I? I don’t have any bad feelings towards him to make some kind of vendetta out of our rematch.
HF: We heard that he didn’t act like a gentleman during the fight, trying to tear off your bandage and start your bleeding.
I: Well, that’s tactics. I got a very deep cut before that fight. Sutures were being placed, they also put some kind of ointment on this cut, and went to fight. They even didn’t want me to fight that time. Maybe Mario knew about that and tried to get into that cut. I repeat, it is tactics of a fight, so you can’t blame him for doing so.
HF: OK, can you name a fighter your loss to whom you would like to avenge? Maybe Mikhail Illukhin, we heard he eye gauged you during your fight at AFC 1?
I: He pressed into my eye with his chin. It was my second tournament, I didn’t know how to grapple back then, but I already knew how to resist to submissions. Illukhine tried few submissions, but I avoided all of them. So after a while maybe he started getting tired, and put his chin in my eye. But I don’t feel like I want a revenge for that.
Maybe I would like to fight Herring again.
HF: Why Herring?
I: Because I feel like I won that fight. Even after that fight guys form Brazilian team came to me told me: “Igor, we think it was a bad decision, we think you won that fight”.
HF: Igor, a lot of fighters train with different teams nowadays. What do you think about it?
I: I haven’t though about changing of my training process and training in other country. Maybe in Russia, in Sambo club, but in the nearest future I am going to train here in Kharkov.
HF: How long are you going to continue fighting?
I: I don’t think any fighter can give you exact answer to this question. Today you feel great, you are in great shape, and tomorrow you get injury which finishes your sport career. There are a lot of examples. So, if we assume that my health would be OK, I think, I’ll keep fighting for another 5 years.
HF: Speaking about your health. How is your recovery going?
I: Normal. I am almost fully recovered and I had a very good rest. I am in a good shape now.
HF: What about your elbow problems?
I: It is fine now. It even went without surgery.
HF: Thanks God! Did you injure your elbow in a fight?
I: No. It was more like accumulated injury, and worsening started during training. I was pulling myself up on horizontal bar (excuse my English here – HF), and heard that something cracked in my right elbow. That was a beginning.
HF: Good it is all over now. We hope it won’t relapse.
Igor, are there any goods with your logo on American market?
I: No. Only in Japan – watches, T-shirts, cookies and bags.
HF: Speaking about your fight with Quinton Jackson. What do you think of it? Maybe you underestimated your opponent, or you were not fully prepared for that fight?
I: Jackson is a strong guy, I saw his fights and I knew what he is capable of. So I didn’t underestimate him. It just went that way. Before this fight Quinton tried to test my nerves (smiles).
HF: What do you mean?
I: Before our fight he gave me some note. It was written in English: “My Mom asks you not to hurt me”.
HF: Why did he do that?
I: That’s basic trick. Nothing special. Attempt to get your opponent out of balance and make him quit thinking about the fight. But my nerves are fine, and it was not the first time I face such tricks.
HF: So what happened to this note afterwards?
I: I don’t speak English, so I gave it to my corner man, we laughed about it later (smiles).
HF: Now some personal questions. Some people are interested, what are your parents build? Did you inherit your power, or it is a result of your training? Were there any fighters among your relatives?
I: My Dad’s height is even smaller than mine. My Grandpa was really strong. I found his old sweater recently and put it on. That sweater just hangs on me! He was really big and strong. As far as I know, I am the first fighter in my family.
HF: Igor, who are your sparring-partners? What do you do in your training? Were there any sparring partners with whom you had a bad relationships?
I: Now I emphasize with striking. I spar with boxers a lot. My permanent boxing sparring partner – Vitaly Natesov. He is very strong boxer. I train grappling with Igor Kovaliov. But now I emphasize on boxing.
With whom I didn’t get along with? I don’t think there were anybody.
HF: It does not surprise us.
What else do you do during training?
I: Running, I also play soccer. Lift weights, but not too much.
HF: What are your results in power lifting?
I: I bench press 180 kg, dead lift (I hope this is the correct English term – HF) – 250 kg. I don’t do much squats, because I gain a lot of weight when I do them. I also like inclinations with weight. So inclinations and bench press are my favorites. I also work with horizontal bar and skids. The best I did - 90 pushups on skids, I believe.
HF: That’s pretty good results. Igor, there were some rumors, that you used to train your fists by hitting brick walls. Is it true?
I: (Laughing) Where did you get it from? No, I didn’t do that. Well, when I was young, I, like many other kids in the USSR, after watching movies about Soviet commandos, I used to break bricks with edge of my palm. But to do it in training – no, I never did that.
HF: OK, let’s go on with rumors. We heard that you were called “Little Elephant” when you were a kid?
I: Oh, somebody remembered this? Well, yeah, I was called like this, but not during my childhood. It was in a sport club, where I trained in kickboxing. When I just came there, somebody said (jokingly) that I mark time like an elephant.
HF: Is it true that you used to work as a bodyguard for some Russian movie star?
I: Partially true. I used to work as a bodyguard, not for a movie star though. I worked for one petroleum magnate from Kharkov.
HF: OK, let’s talk about your upcoming fight in Holland with Bob Schreiber. Your big fan from Holland Mikie Street asks a few questions about it. He also sends you his best regards.
I: Say Hi to Mikie! What does he ask about?
HF: First of all, what kind of rules will it be? Kickboxing?
I: No, it is going to be a MMA fight. Few 5-minutes rounds. I think it is supposed to be one of Bob’s last fights, he is talking about his retirement.
HF: Bob is very tough fighter, some people also consider him as a dirty fighter.
I: Yeah, I remember how he stepped on Matsui in Pride. But I think this is going to be a very good fight, what do you think?
HF: We are sure about it, and if Bob really wants to retire, it would be a great farewell fight for him.
I: We’ll see in summer.
HF: Are you going to meet fans before this show in Holland? Are you planning any seminars in Holland?
I: Of course, I really want to meet my fans before the fight, I am going to talk about it with promoters of this championship. Such meetings are very important to me. I am not sure about the seminars. As far as I know, there were no propositions on that matter yet.
HF: Here is the last question, which worries many people from The Underground. Couple of years ago there were some messages there signed with your name. But nobody actually believed it was really you, and pounced on that guy. After that it appeared that no one was sure that it wasn’t really you. What can you say about it?
I: (Smiling) No, it wasn’t me, don’t worry. Someone just used my name, that’s all.
HF: Thank you very much, Igor, for your answers.
I: No problem. If you will have more questions, I will answer them with great pleasure.
Please send my best regards to visitors of your site and to my fans everywhere!
HF: We’ll certainly do that! Thanks again for meeting with us. We hope, it is not the last one.
I: I am sure it is not!
Igor: Hi!
HF: How are you doing, when are you going to fight again?
I: I am almost 100% recovered. I think if everything goes fine I’ll be in the next Pride. And how are you guys doing?
HF: We are fine, thanks. After publication of your interview we received a lot of questions and kind words about you. Are you ready to tell your fans about the details of your life that they are interested in?
I: Yeah, why not? I don’t have any secrets.
HF: Great. Let’s start it?
I: OK
HF: First of all a lot of your fans from the USA say hi to you. Here is a list of questions from Attjack (from The Underground Forum). Do you have any idea why Dana White said that you retired from fighting? Where could he get this information?
I: I have no idea. Maybe he knows something that I don’t know (smiles). I don’t have any contact directly with promoters. My manager, Eugenia Borshevskaja does it for me. I know that there were some proposals from the UFC, but one thing I know for sure – I did not announce my retirement. You better speak to Eugenia about contacts with promoters and invitations to tournaments, she’ll give you more complete information about this kind of stuff. I rely on her completely.
HF: Well, does it mean that you have not heard about Battleship promotion, it was announced that they contacted you concerning your participation in their tournament?
I: No. Maybe they contacted Borshevskaja, but I don’t know about them.
HF: Next question: Do you still consider for yourself to become a LHW?
I: It is not easy for me to go down the weight. There is a weight where you feel yourself the most comfortable. Now I weight 100 kilos, so I think I’ll stay at HW for a while. But I don’t deny the possibility to become a LHW, considering my height, it would be much easier for me to fight there.
HF: When was the last time you weighted 96 kilos?
I: 96? Approximately 6 years ago. In 1996, to be accurate.
HF: Your opponent in Pride 17 Mario Sperry became LHW. In case you do the same, would you like to fight him again and avenge your loss?
I: I don’t feel that bad about my losses to dream about revenge. In case I fight Mario again, it would be just another fight, and I won’t look back at Pride 17. Why should I? I don’t have any bad feelings towards him to make some kind of vendetta out of our rematch.
HF: We heard that he didn’t act like a gentleman during the fight, trying to tear off your bandage and start your bleeding.
I: Well, that’s tactics. I got a very deep cut before that fight. Sutures were being placed, they also put some kind of ointment on this cut, and went to fight. They even didn’t want me to fight that time. Maybe Mario knew about that and tried to get into that cut. I repeat, it is tactics of a fight, so you can’t blame him for doing so.
HF: OK, can you name a fighter your loss to whom you would like to avenge? Maybe Mikhail Illukhin, we heard he eye gauged you during your fight at AFC 1?
I: He pressed into my eye with his chin. It was my second tournament, I didn’t know how to grapple back then, but I already knew how to resist to submissions. Illukhine tried few submissions, but I avoided all of them. So after a while maybe he started getting tired, and put his chin in my eye. But I don’t feel like I want a revenge for that.
Maybe I would like to fight Herring again.
HF: Why Herring?
I: Because I feel like I won that fight. Even after that fight guys form Brazilian team came to me told me: “Igor, we think it was a bad decision, we think you won that fight”.
HF: Igor, a lot of fighters train with different teams nowadays. What do you think about it?
I: I haven’t though about changing of my training process and training in other country. Maybe in Russia, in Sambo club, but in the nearest future I am going to train here in Kharkov.
HF: How long are you going to continue fighting?
I: I don’t think any fighter can give you exact answer to this question. Today you feel great, you are in great shape, and tomorrow you get injury which finishes your sport career. There are a lot of examples. So, if we assume that my health would be OK, I think, I’ll keep fighting for another 5 years.
HF: Speaking about your health. How is your recovery going?
I: Normal. I am almost fully recovered and I had a very good rest. I am in a good shape now.
HF: What about your elbow problems?
I: It is fine now. It even went without surgery.
HF: Thanks God! Did you injure your elbow in a fight?
I: No. It was more like accumulated injury, and worsening started during training. I was pulling myself up on horizontal bar (excuse my English here – HF), and heard that something cracked in my right elbow. That was a beginning.
HF: Good it is all over now. We hope it won’t relapse.
Igor, are there any goods with your logo on American market?
I: No. Only in Japan – watches, T-shirts, cookies and bags.
HF: Speaking about your fight with Quinton Jackson. What do you think of it? Maybe you underestimated your opponent, or you were not fully prepared for that fight?
I: Jackson is a strong guy, I saw his fights and I knew what he is capable of. So I didn’t underestimate him. It just went that way. Before this fight Quinton tried to test my nerves (smiles).
HF: What do you mean?
I: Before our fight he gave me some note. It was written in English: “My Mom asks you not to hurt me”.
HF: Why did he do that?
I: That’s basic trick. Nothing special. Attempt to get your opponent out of balance and make him quit thinking about the fight. But my nerves are fine, and it was not the first time I face such tricks.
HF: So what happened to this note afterwards?
I: I don’t speak English, so I gave it to my corner man, we laughed about it later (smiles).
HF: Now some personal questions. Some people are interested, what are your parents build? Did you inherit your power, or it is a result of your training? Were there any fighters among your relatives?
I: My Dad’s height is even smaller than mine. My Grandpa was really strong. I found his old sweater recently and put it on. That sweater just hangs on me! He was really big and strong. As far as I know, I am the first fighter in my family.
HF: Igor, who are your sparring-partners? What do you do in your training? Were there any sparring partners with whom you had a bad relationships?
I: Now I emphasize with striking. I spar with boxers a lot. My permanent boxing sparring partner – Vitaly Natesov. He is very strong boxer. I train grappling with Igor Kovaliov. But now I emphasize on boxing.
With whom I didn’t get along with? I don’t think there were anybody.
HF: It does not surprise us.
What else do you do during training?
I: Running, I also play soccer. Lift weights, but not too much.
HF: What are your results in power lifting?
I: I bench press 180 kg, dead lift (I hope this is the correct English term – HF) – 250 kg. I don’t do much squats, because I gain a lot of weight when I do them. I also like inclinations with weight. So inclinations and bench press are my favorites. I also work with horizontal bar and skids. The best I did - 90 pushups on skids, I believe.
HF: That’s pretty good results. Igor, there were some rumors, that you used to train your fists by hitting brick walls. Is it true?
I: (Laughing) Where did you get it from? No, I didn’t do that. Well, when I was young, I, like many other kids in the USSR, after watching movies about Soviet commandos, I used to break bricks with edge of my palm. But to do it in training – no, I never did that.
HF: OK, let’s go on with rumors. We heard that you were called “Little Elephant” when you were a kid?
I: Oh, somebody remembered this? Well, yeah, I was called like this, but not during my childhood. It was in a sport club, where I trained in kickboxing. When I just came there, somebody said (jokingly) that I mark time like an elephant.
HF: Is it true that you used to work as a bodyguard for some Russian movie star?
I: Partially true. I used to work as a bodyguard, not for a movie star though. I worked for one petroleum magnate from Kharkov.
HF: OK, let’s talk about your upcoming fight in Holland with Bob Schreiber. Your big fan from Holland Mikie Street asks a few questions about it. He also sends you his best regards.
I: Say Hi to Mikie! What does he ask about?
HF: First of all, what kind of rules will it be? Kickboxing?
I: No, it is going to be a MMA fight. Few 5-minutes rounds. I think it is supposed to be one of Bob’s last fights, he is talking about his retirement.
HF: Bob is very tough fighter, some people also consider him as a dirty fighter.
I: Yeah, I remember how he stepped on Matsui in Pride. But I think this is going to be a very good fight, what do you think?
HF: We are sure about it, and if Bob really wants to retire, it would be a great farewell fight for him.
I: We’ll see in summer.
HF: Are you going to meet fans before this show in Holland? Are you planning any seminars in Holland?
I: Of course, I really want to meet my fans before the fight, I am going to talk about it with promoters of this championship. Such meetings are very important to me. I am not sure about the seminars. As far as I know, there were no propositions on that matter yet.
HF: Here is the last question, which worries many people from The Underground. Couple of years ago there were some messages there signed with your name. But nobody actually believed it was really you, and pounced on that guy. After that it appeared that no one was sure that it wasn’t really you. What can you say about it?
I: (Smiling) No, it wasn’t me, don’t worry. Someone just used my name, that’s all.
HF: Thank you very much, Igor, for your answers.
I: No problem. If you will have more questions, I will answer them with great pleasure.
Please send my best regards to visitors of your site and to my fans everywhere!
HF: We’ll certainly do that! Thanks again for meeting with us. We hope, it is not the last one.
I: I am sure it is not!