Anatoly Tokov: "Fedor Emelianenko has great speed, a hard shot and a very good flair"

Fedor Team representative and mixed martial arts star Anatoly TOKOV won a silver medal in Combat SAMBO among men in the weight category up to 98 kg at the World SAMBO Cup held in Cholpon-Ata (Kyrgyzstan) on August 22-23. In an interview with the FIAS website, he spoke about why he decided to take part in this tournament, the reason for the defeat in the final and the chances of Fedor Emelianenko in the fight against Mike Tyson.

– Anatoly, your participation in the World Cup was a pleasant surprise for all SAMBO lovers. Why did you make such a decision?

– At the age of 30, I managed to fulfill the standard of a Master of Sports. Now, at the age of 33, I wanted to get the title of International Master of Sports. This became one of the reasons.

– What are your impressions of the tournament, and what was your goal?

– The goal was to win, but all the opponents turned out to be strong guys. Probably, the fact that in this weight category my weight was less than that of others played a role. In the final, I missed the pass to the legs, and could no longer recoup.

– From the side it seemed that you simply did not have enough time, unlike mixed martial arts, where the fight lasts from three to five rounds. Maybe because of this?

– I would not want to justify my defeat with this, because I knew that the fight consists of one round and lasts five minutes. I think I didn’t warm up enough before the final fight.

– In the final, you relied on striking technique, and your opponent – on wrestling?

– Abdulkhalim is a strong opponent, a freestyle wrestler. Going to the mat, I understood that it would be difficult for me to compete in the wrestling with him, so I tried to deliver sensitive punches.

– Can we say that Abdulkhalim Dzhavatkhanov outplayed you largely due to tactics?

– I saw his fights, I even fought him once at the National Cup, then I managed to win. We can say that revenge took place today. At the very beginning of the fight, I missed a pass to the legs and a hold, after that it was already difficult to win back the gap.

– In other fights, on the way to the main fight, you used leg kicks. Why did you change tactics in the final?

– Indeed, in the final I focused on punches. Since Abdul has a very strong fight, I had to keep in mind all the time that he could grab my legs. That's probably why I didn't take the risk. In addition, protective pads reduce the speed of punches, wrestlers know this and often use it. And don't forget that in SAMBO you don't get points for hits.

– How high was the level of your opponents in the tournament bracket?

– All the guys are of a high level, someone, maybe a little more experienced.

– In addition to the goal of winning, what other tasks were there?

– To be honest, I haven’t performed in the “amateurs” for a long time. If an athlete has to take part in three or four bouts a day, then he has to tune in to each of them. In professional fights – only for one, so the experience of the last World Cup is very useful for me. Thanks to the prevailing sports and combat atmosphere, it is then easier to perform in mixed martial arts.

– Do you plan to participate in the national championship to qualify for the World Championship next year?

– If there are no fights in mixed martial arts, then I will participate.

– What is SAMBO for you, and why did you choose Combat SAMBO?

– I like it when you have to have several fights during the day, it's interesting.

– You are a representative of the Fedor Team, where all athletes are combat sambists...

– Initially, I was not a Combat SAMBO wrestler, but now I try to be one. I like Combat SAMBO and I want to get a better feel for wrestling in a jacket.

– Some time ago, it became known about the desire of Fedor Emelianenko to fight Mike Tyson according to the rules of boxing. What do you think about it?

– Mike Tyson is a boxing legend, Fedor Emelianenko is a SAMBO and mixed martial arts legend. I have no doubt that this fight will attract the attention of a huge number of people.

– How do you assess the chances?

– Fedor always has a chance. He still has great speed, hard hitting, very good flair. Fedor still retains all his strong qualities.