Alexander Shlemenko
| Alexander Shlemenko Александр Шлеменко |
|
|---|---|
 Alexander Shlemenko in december 2011, after win against Vianna |
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| Born | May 20, 1984 Omsk, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union |
| Other names | Storm (Шторм) |
| Nationality | Russian |
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) |
| Weight | 185 lb (83.9 kg; 13.2 st) |
| Division | Middleweight |
| Fighting out of | Omsk, Russia |
| Team | RusFighters Sport Club (Saturn MMA team) Reign Training Center |
| Rank | International Master of Sports in Hand-to-Hand Combat[1] |
| Years active | 2004–present |
| Mixed martial arts record | |
| Total | 51 |
| Wins | 44 |
| By knockout | 26 |
| By submission | 7 |
| By decision | 11 |
| Losses | 7 |
| By knockout | 1 |
| By submission | 2 |
| By decision | 4 |
| Notable students | Alexander Sarnavskiy Andrey Koreshkov |
| Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog | |
Alexander Pavlovich Shlemenko (Russian: Александр Павлович Шлеменко, born May 20, 1984) is a Russian mixed martial artist currently fighting in the Middleweight division for Bellator Fighting Championships. Alexander is an expert in hand-to-hand combat & traditional Kickboxing.[2] He trains at the "Saturn Profi" sports club in Omsk, Russia, and holds a degree in Physical Culture (specialization - Combat Sports Trainer) at the Omsk State University.
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[edit] Early career
As a teenager, Alexander did skiing and Greco-Roman wrestling. At the age of 15, Shlemenko seriously started to train ARB, which is the Russian abbreviation for "army hand-to-hand combat". He competed in many regional and national tournaments in ARB, and got to the highest sport level by reaching the title of "master of sports". After watching a professional pancration tournament, Shlemenko immediately wanted to try it out. Shortly after that, he made his professional MMA-debut in 2004 at the age of 20 in his hometown Omsk, winning by TKO.
[edit] Fighting for the IAFC
During the early stage of his professional MMA-career, Shlemenko competed in the IAFC (International Absolute Fighting Council). Fighting as usual multiple fights per night, Alexander won most of them by knockout, which can be seen in his record. In May 2005, after only one year of his professional MMA career, Shlemenko had an impressive 15-2 record, and was gaining more and more attention by the Russian fans and the media.
[edit] Rise as an MMA-fighter
After the IAFC, Shlemenko fought in a lot of organisations, like M-1 Mixfight and BodogFight. He competed in EliteXC before the company went defunct. Its assets have been acquired by Strikeforce, having made his successful US debut on their October 10, 2008 ShoXC show on Showtime.
Alexander won most of his fights, often by KO or TKO. Through the series of wins, some of his losses were corner posts for his development as a fighter and his whole MMA-career.
[edit] Shlemenko vs. Ronaldo "Jacaré" Souza
In April 2006, Alexander faced the former Strikeforce Middleweight champion Ronaldo Souza at Jungle Fight 5. Early in the first round, Jacaré moved the fight to the ground, and got a full mount position. After some heavy ground and pound, Jacaré submitted Shlemenko by an arm triangle choke. Shlemenko didn`t tap and got choked unconscious. In his blog,[3] Alexander later said, that he lost this fight, because he was a "young fool". According to his own words, Shlemenko didn`t even have a clue about fighting on the ground or grappling at all, he was still training as an ARB fighter (there is no ground game in ARB). Competing in MMA was just a hobby to gain some money while studying. After this fight, Shlemenko started to prepare himself like a professional mixed martial artist, training grappling as well.
According to one of his blogs,[4] Shlemenko said, that right know he would have a good chance to win in a rematch with "Jacaré".
[edit] Shlemenko vs. Jose "Pelé" Landi Jones
As Alexander stated during an interview in 2010,[5] the hardest fight of his career was the rematch with Jose "Pelé" Landi Jones in September 2006. The reason for this was, that Shlemenko noticed after the first round that he has broken both of his hands, but he still continued to fight.
Jose "Pelé" Landi Jones won by a disputed decision, and was booed out by the crowd, which saw Shlemenko as a winner.
[edit] Shlemenko vs. Jordan Radev
The only knockout loss of his career Alexander received from Jordan Radev, a Bulgarian Olympic wrestler and mixed martial artist. Alexander caught a heavy left hook in the second round, which knocked him out.[6]
Later, in an interview[7] Shlemenko said that this loss made him stronger, and gave him a lot of motivation to train harder.
[edit] Fighting for Bellator
[edit] MW tournament season 2
In 2010, Shlemenko signed with Bellator and made his debut in the Season 2 Middleweight Tournament at Bellator 16, defeating Matt Major via unanimous decision.
In the semi-finals of the tournament, Alexander defeated Jared Hess, after Hess dislocated his knee, forcing the TKO via stoppage.
Shlemenko then faced Bryan Baker in the Bellator Middleweight tournament final on June 24, 2010 at Bellator 23.[8] He won the fight via TKO in the first round to become the Bellator Season 2 Middleweight tournament winner. In addition to a $100,000 check for winning the tournament, Shlemenko obtained a chance to fight against Hector Lombard for the Bellator Middleweight Championship title at Bellator 34 on October 28, 2010.
On October 28, 2010 at Bellator 34, Alexander Shlemenko faced Hector Lombard. Lombard controlled nearly the whole fight, landing elusive striking combinations and heavy elbows from Shlemenko`s guard.[9] Despite taking a lot of damage that would've finished most opponents, Shlemenko actively fought back and even won the 5th round on the judges scorecards with a few well placed knees, some spinning backfists and stuffing takedown attempts. This was due to Hector Lombard relying mostly on takedowns to win the rounds after Shlemenko figured out his timing on the feet.
[edit] MW tournament season 5
In the opening round of the Bellator Season 5 Middleweight Tournament, Shlemenko fought Zelg Galesic, a Croatian mixed martial artist with a Taekwondo background. This fight was anticipated as an interesting striking match between two experienced stand-up fighters. Unlike this expectations, Alexander won by a standing guillotine choke in the 1th round, proving his rarely seen submission skills.[10]
In the semifinal round, Shlemenko faced Brian Rogers, an American fighter noticed for many 1st round stoppages due to striking. Rogers came out aggressively in the first round, landing striking combinations.[11] After a lost 1th round, Shlemenko started to dictate the pace of the fight early in the second round. A landed backfist, followed by heavy knee strikes to the head have brought Rogers in trouble in the first half of the round. After both fighters exchanged some punches, Alexander managed to land another unanswered series of heavy knees to the head of Rogers, which forced the referee to stop the fight at 2:31 of the second round. After the fight Alexander stated in his blog, that he was rather nervous during the fight,[12] and that he saw Brian Rogers as a very athletic and explosive opponent.
In the tournament finals, Shlemenko faced Vitor Vianna, a two time world BJJ-champion. Nearly the whole fight Alexander dominated in stand-up punching exchanges,[13] which brought him a win by unanimous decision.
This win sets up a rematch with Hector Lombard, which will be held on March 2, 2012.
[edit] Fighting style
Shlemenko is known for his unorthodox striking style, which is difficult to refer as traditional Muay Thai, Kickboxing, or ARB. Alexander is known for his knee strikes, he also often uses technics as the spinning backkick or spinning backfist. As stated in many interviews, he prefers to fight stand-up rather than on the ground, always trying to knock his opponent out. Often esteemed as a pure striker, Shlemenko has also some grappling skills, which he showed by defeating via submission among others Gregory Babene and Zakir Lalashov[14][15] (both via triangle choke). Alexander switches from southpaw to orthodox during his fights. In his blog he says, that he can fight equally in both positions.[16]
Beside of technical skills, Alexander shows an impressive cardio during his fights, which he thinks is due to skiing in teenager age.[17]
Maybe the most impressive "skill" of Shlemenko is his remarkably strong will. Even after receiving in some fights a lot of damage from his opponents, Alexander always shows an intent to win the fight, which he has proven against Brian Rogers or Hector Lombard.
[edit] Training
Alexander Shlemenko trains twice a day at the "Saturn Profi" sports club in Omsk, Russia. Although of his young age, but through his big experience in MMA and his degree in sport science Shlemenko is already active as a trainer too. His students Alexander Sarnavskiy and Andrey Koreshkov are looked as top prospects in mixed martial arts, showing impressive ground game and stand-up skills. On sherdog.com (December 2011), Sarnavskiy has a record of 18-0,[18] Koreshkov one of 8-0.[19]
During Bellator Season 5 Middleweight Tournament, Shlemenko and his students were training for three months in USA, at HB Ultimate Sports Center or Reign MMA, working together with BJ Penn and Mark Muñoz among other top MMA-fighters.[20]
[edit] Interaction with the fans
Shlemenko is doing a videoblog, where he talks with his, mostly Russian, fans about his fights, teaches lessons in a master class, shares his thoughts about other fights, or answers fan questions.[21] In a forum at the website valetudo.ru, the fans have an opportunity to ask questions directly to Alexander, or share their thoughts about his fights. Alexander has also a twitter account, he can be found under the username StormShlemenko.
[edit] Championships and accomplishments
[edit] Mixed martial arts
- Bellator Fighting Championships
- World Kickboxing Network
- WKN MMA European 75 kg Championship
- International Absolute Fighting Council
- IAFC 2005 World Pankration Championship Tournament Winner
- IAFC 2005 Championship of Asia Tournament Winner
- IAFC 2004 Stage of Russia Tournament Winner
- IAFC 2004 Stage of Russia Cup 5 Tournament Winner
- IAFC 2004 Russian Pankration Championship Tournament Winner
- IAFC 2004 Stage of Russia Cup 4 Tournament Winner
- IAFC 2004 Pancration Asian Open Cup Tournament Runner-up
- IAFC 2004 Stage of Russia Cup 3 Tournament Winner
- Cup of Empire
- Cup of Empire 2004 Tournament Runner-up
- Sherdog
- 2011 All-Violence Third Team
- 2010 All-Violence Third Team
[edit] Mixed martial arts record
| Professional record breakdown | ||
| 51 matches | 44 wins | 7 losses |
| By knockout | 26 | 1 |
| By submission | 7 | 2 |
| By decision | 11 | 4 |
| Result | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 44-7 | Julio Paulino | Decision (unanimous) | FEFoMP - Battle of Empires | December 17, 2011 | 3 | 5:00 | Khabarovsk, Russia | |
| Win | 43-7 | Vitor Vianna | Decision (unanimous) | Bellator_Fighting_Championships:_Season_Five#Bellator_LVII | November 12, 2011 | 3 | 5:00 | Rama, Ontario, Canada | Bellator Season 5 Middleweight Tournament Final. |
| Win | 42–7 | Brian Rogers | TKO (knees) | Bellator 54 | October 15, 2011 | 2 | 2:30 | Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States | Bellator Season 5 Middleweight Tournament Semifinal. |
| Win | 41–7 | Zelg Galešić | Submission (guillotine choke) | Bellator 50 | September 17, 2011 | 1 | 1:55 | Hollywood, Florida, United States | Bellator Season 5 Middleweight Tournament Quarterfinal. |
| Win | 40–7 | Marcos Antonio Santana | KO (punch) | League S-70: Russia vs. Brazil | August 6, 2011 | 1 | 1:29 | Sochi, Russia | |
| Win | 39–7 | Brett Cooper | Decision (unanimous) | Bellator 44 | May 14, 2011 | 3 | 5:00 | Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States | |
| Win | 38–7 | Nick Wagner | KO (punch) | Fight Festival 30 | March 12, 2011 | 1 | 3:13 | Helsinki, Finland | |
| Loss | 37–7 | Hector Lombard | Decision (unanimous) | Bellator 34 | October 28, 2010 | 5 | 5:00 | Hollywood, Florida, United States | For Bellator Middleweight Championship. |
| Win | 37–6 | Bryan Baker | TKO (punches) | Bellator 23 | June 24, 2010 | 1 | 2:45 | Louisville, Kentucky, United States | Bellator Season 2 Middleweight Tournament Final. |
| Win | 36–6 | Jared Hess | TKO (knee injury) | Bellator 20 | May 27, 2010 | 3 | 2:20 | San Antonio, Texas, United States | Bellator Season 2 Middleweight Tournament Semifinal. |
| Win | 35–6 | Matt Major | Decision (unanimous) | Bellator 16 | April 29, 2010 | 3 | 5:00 | Kansas City, Missouri, United States | Bellator Season 2 Middleweight Tournament Quarterfinal. |
| Win | 34–6 | Sean Salmon | KO (knee to the body) | Fight Festival 27 | March 13, 2010 | 1 | 0:40 | Helsinki, Finland | |
| Win | 33–6 | Jean-François Lénogue | KO (spinning back fist) | Saturn & RusFighters: Battle of Gladiators | February 13, 2010 | 2 | 1:43 | Omsk, Russia | |
| Win | 32–6 | Maksim Nevolia | Submission (rear-naked choke) | IAFC: Mayor's Cup 2009 | November 27, 2009 | 1 | 1:15 | Novosibirsk, Russia | |
| Loss | 31–6 | Jordan Radev | KO (punch) | Fight Festival 26 | October 17, 2009 | 1 | 4:27 | Helsinki, Finland | |
| Win | 31–5 | Patrick Kincl | Decision (unanimous) | Hell Cage 4 | September 20, 2009 | 3 | 5:00 | Prague, Czech Republic | Won WKN MMA European 75 kg Championship. |
| Win | 30–5 | Petras Markevičius | Decision (unanimous) | IAFC: Russia vs. the World | November 29, 2008 | 3 | 5:00 | Novosibirsk, Russia | |
| Win | 29–5 | Robert McDaniel | TKO (flying knee to the body) | ShoXC#October_10.2C_2008_card | October 10, 2008 | 1 | 5:00 | Hammond, Indiana, United States | |
| Win | 28–5 | Gregory Babene | Submission (triangle choke) | BSCF: Siberian Challenge 2 | May 18, 2008 | 1 | 4:48 | Bratsk, Russia | |
| Win | 27–5 | Mikko Suvanto | KO | fightFORCE: Russia vs. The World | April 19, 2008 | 1 | N/A | St. Petersburg, Russia | |
| Win | 26–5 | Diego Lionel Vitosky | KO (head kick) | Bodog Fight: USA vs. Russia | November 30, 2007 | 1 | 2:11 | Moscow, Russia | |
| Win | 25–5 | Lalashov Zakir | Submission (triangle choke) | Siberian Challenge 1 | October 14, 2007 | 2 | 2:20 | Bratsk, Russia | |
| Win | 24–5 | Scott Henze | KO (spinning back fist) | Bodog Fight: Vancouver | August 24, 2007 | 1 | 0:57 | Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada | |
| Win | 23–5 | Andre Balschmieter | TKO | Bratsk Combat Sport Festival | February 24, 2007 | 1 | 2:30 | Russia | |
| Loss | 22–5 | José Landi-Jons | Decision (unanimous) | WFC 2: Evolution | September 30, 2006 | 3 | 5:00 | Koper, Slovenia | |
| Loss | 22–4 | Ronaldo Souza | Submission (arm-triangle choke) | Jungle Fight 6 | April 29, 2006 | 1 | 2:10 | Manaus, Brazil | |
| Win | 22–3 | Shavkat Urakov | Submission (triangle choke) | APF: World Pankration Championship 2006 | April 15, 2005 | N/A | N/A | Astana, Kazakhstan | |
| Win | 21–3 | Beslan Isaev | Submission (triangle choke) | APF: World Pankration Championship 2005 | December 18, 2005 | 3 | N/A | Astana, Kazakhstan | |
| Win | 20–3 | Murad Magomedov | TKO (towel) | APF: World Pankration Championship 2005 | December 18, 2005 | N/A | N/A | Astana, Kazakhstan | |
| Win | 19–3 | Vasily Novikov | TKO (towel) | APF: World Pankration Championship 2005 | December 18, 2005 | 1 | N/A | Astana, Kazakhstan | |
| Loss | 18–3 | José Landi-Jons | Decision | Jungle Fight 5 | November 26, 2005 | 3 | 5:00 | Manaus, Brazil | |
| Win | 18–2 | Sergey Naumov | TKO | M-1 MFC: Russia vs France | November 5, 2005 | 2 | 4:50 | St. Petersburg, Russia | |
| Win | 17–2 | Sergey Gubin | KO (punch) | IAFC: Pancration Siberian Open Cup 2005 | October 20, 2005 | N/A | N/A | Omsk, Russia | |
| Win | 16–2 | Ubaidula Chopolaev | Decision | M-1 MFC: New Blood | October 1, 2005 | 2 | 5:00 | St. Petersburg, Russia | |
| Win | 15–2 | Vasily Krilov | Decision | IAFC: Championship of Asia | March 20, 2005 | 3 | N/A | Jakutsk, Russia | |
| Win | 14–2 | Musa Pliev | Decision | IAFC: Championship of Asia | March 20, 2005 | 3 | N/A | Jakutsk, Russia | |
| Win | 13–2 | Sergei Akinen | KO (knee) | IAFC: Championship of Asia | March 20, 2005 | 1 | N/A | Jakutsk, Russia | |
| Win | 12–2 | Vener Galiev | TKO (injury) | IAFC: Stage of Russia Cup | December 20, 2004 | 1 | N/A | Ulianovsk, Russia | |
| Win | 11–2 | Pavel Jaroslavtcev | TKO | IAFC: Stage of Russia Cup | December 20, 2004 | 1 | N/A | Ulianovsk, Russia | |
| Win | 10–2 | Murad Madomedov | TKO | IAFC: Stage of Russia Cup | December 20, 2004 | 3 | N/A | Ulianovsk, Russia | |
| Win | 9–2 | Jakov Burbolenko | TKO | IAFC: Russian Pankration Championship | June 25, 2004 | 2 | N/A | Omsk, Russia | |
| Win | 8–2 | Evgenij Zaviazochnikov | Submission (guillotine choke) | IAFC: Russian Pankration Championship | June 25, 2004 | 1 | N/A | Omsk, Russia | |
| Win | 7–2 | Vasiliy Blinov | TKO | IAFC: Russian Pankration Championship | June 25, 2004 | 2 | N/A | Omsk, Russia | |
| Win | 6–2 | Jeihun Aliev | TKO | IAFC: Stage of Russia Cup 4 | April 29, 2004 | 2 | N/A | Samara, Russia | |
| Win | 5–2 | Magomed Sultanakhmedov | Decision (unanimous) | IAFC: Stage of Russia Cup 4 | April 29, 2004 | 2 | 5:00 | Samara, Russia | |
| Loss | 4–2 | Vener Galiev | Decision (unanimous) | Cup Of Empire 2004 | March 18, 2004 | N/A | N/A | Kazan, Russia | |
| Win | 4–1 | Abdul Aziz Malaaiev | Decision (unanimous) | Cup Of Empire 2004 | March 18, 2004 | N/A | N/A | Kazan, Russia | |
| Loss | 3–1 | Beslan Isaev | Submission (armbar) | IAFC: Pancration Asian Open Cup 2004 | March 4, 2004 | 1 | N/A | Yakutsk, Russia | |
| Win | 3–0 | Anton Veisbekker | KO (punch) | IAFC: Pancration Asian Open Cup 2004 | March 4, 2004 | N/A | N/A | Yakutsk, Russia | |
| Win | 2–0 | Alexander Jakovlev | TKO | IAFC: Stage of Russia Cup 3 | February 19, 2004 | 2 | N/A | Omsk, Russia | |
| Win | 1–0 | Zulfinar Sultanmagomedov | TKO (cut) | IAFC: Stage of Russia Cup 3 | February 19, 2004 | 1 | N/A | Omsk, Russia |
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ http://mmatracker.ru/details.php?id=1758&filelist=1
- ^ http://mmatracker.ru/details.php?id=1758&filelist=1
- ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5T4dnk6H3I&feature=g-all-u&context=G28df18bFAAAAAAAACAA
- ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5T4dnk6H3I&feature=g-all-u&context=G28df18bFAAAAAAAACAA
- ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cTu3FfqyAuY
- ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_SApjRo7qu8
- ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QgVH2QKTrF0
- ^ http://mmajunkie.com/news/19374/louisvilles-bellator-23-official-with-warren-vs-friere-shlemenko-vs-baker-finales.mma
- ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTnmvUIHxOU
- ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LE84WIlCgPU
- ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hO2wBTwTz6I&feature=related
- ^ http://www.youtube.com/user/argen2mvaletudo#p/u/10/Po8DD91su04
- ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mGzWs3aE-a0&feature=related
- ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXw00e-Z10o
- ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NaF5X_Mrl2M
- ^ http://www.youtube.com/user/argen2mvaletudo#p/u/10/Po8DD91su04
- ^ http://www.youtube.com/user/argen2mvaletudo#p/u/4/n5T4dnk6H3I
- ^ http://www.sherdog.com/fighter/Alexander-Sarnavskiy-41790
- ^ http://www.sherdog.com/fighter/Andrey-Koreshkov-74221
- ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5T4dnk6H3I&feature=g-all-u&context=G25685e4FAAAAAAAACAA
- ^ https://www.youtube.com/user/argen2mvaletudo
