2014-11-24
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The RocknRolla

Fighter profile of The RocknRolla by Bjorn O'Donnel

The RocknRolla (251668)

In the streets of Moscow, there is nothing given. TheRocknRolla is well aware of that and has worked for everything he’s had. At the young age of 19, he has compiled a 4-0 MMA record in the Immortals fight organization. At 6’6 and nearly 275 pounds, TheRocknRolla is hard to miss with his huge frame and the constant smile that never seems to leave his face outside of the octagon. Why the constant smile? According to the man himself, why not? He’s been quoted as saying everything from here on out is about advancing his career and soaking in the moments.

Life wasn’t always this easy though. Growing up in Moscow, he faced constant bullying growing up for not fitting in with other kids his age. Coming from a broken family, TheRocknRolla didn’t have anything at home to keep his feet on the ground. He constantly skipped school to be on the street with the older kids. With his life going nowhere fast, he was given a golden opportunity that he took a while to notice. After being involved in several illegal“fight club” esque groups, he felt like he found a home.
After dominating the locals in these groups, he began to think about fighting for a living. With his unique muay thai style of fighting, he was a rarity in Russia. After more amateur fighting in Russia (this time legal fighting), it became obvious to him and those around him that TheRocknRolla was destined to be an MMA fighter. After hearing of other fellow Russian fighters in the New York area, he decided to make the big jump and move to America for an MMA career.

After arriving in New York, he wasted zero time in getting involved in the fighting scene. The big reason was a chance meeting between TheRocknRolla and Peel Steel, owner of the Immortal fight organization in New York. After signing a contract to fight in the organization, TheRocknRolla has worked like a mad man to get the rest of his MMA game up to par. One of the big hurdles was wrestling. He has worked tirelessly on his takedown defense and his ability to stand and trade with elite level boxers. While his wrestling has ended up a strength, he knows more has to be done.

In his first pro fight, he faced off against another green foreign fighter in Tichi Chung. Chung was also a muay thai based fighter, but that couldn’t save him from a first round head kick that turned out his lights. Chung was hit with seemingly dozens of leg and body kicks before being put away by a head kick that would make the hardest of hearts bleed. After a successful debut, he was given the task of fighting a great boxer in Dillon Schell. After once again softening his opponent up with leg and body kicks, TheRocknRolla moved the fight to the clinch and ended the fight with a short uppercut followed with a myriad of short punches that sent Schell to the mat knocked out cold.

After two relatively easy wins, TheRocknRolla hadn’t rested on his laurels. He continued to put countless blood, sweat, and tears into this developing wrestling game. His third fight would be against another undefeatred fighter, 3-0 Angelo Costa. Costa was another well-known boxer who boasted a decent wrestling game as well. In his first fight that went past the frist round, he put on a muay thai exhibition with countless head and body punches that left a deep cut under the eye of Costa. That cut would be further damaged late in the first round and opened back up in the second round before the knockout. After a potential 10-8 first round, TheRocknRolla finished the fight with a crowd pleasing head kick that let the fans go home happy.

After another amazing win, TheRocknRolla was slated to face his first elite wrestler, Brick Tamlin, who also possessed a purple belt in BJJ. The fight certainly presented problems that he had never faced before on paper. For once, TheRocknRolla found himself on his back. It would happen four times in the fight with Tamlin. He suffered minimal damage from ground and pound and was never close to being submitted. On the other side of things, Tamlin was destroyed in the standup. Tamlin’s legs were constantly tagged by leg kicks that kept Tamlin from charging in for takedowns. With that, TheRocknRolla tagged Tamlin with a number of jabs and head kicks that opened him up pretty good. The reach advantage was too much for Tamlin who was never able to find his range against the longer fighter. The final scorecards all read 50-45 for the young Russian.

What’s next for TheRocknRolla? He has proved his amazing length and reach, paired with his great muay thai striking is a lethal combination. As he continues to improve his standup striking and wrestling, one brings the question, can anyone stop this guy? If they’re out there, I would love to see them because the young Russian was born to fight and is improving fight to fight more than almost any other fighter this writer has followed in MMA.

 

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