It hasn't been that long since the UFC has tried to acquire one of the greatest pound for pound fighters in the world, that fighter being Fedor Emelianenko, who is currently the number one ranked heavyweight in the world. The signing of Fedor Emelianenko to the UFC may one day become a reality or maybe it won’t. But whether or not the fans will get a chance to see one of the world’s greatest fighters signed to the most successful mma organization is still up in the air.It’s the competition and rivalry between the USA and Russia that draws the large number of fans. The original story plot straight out of Rocky IV. Rocky Balboa versus Ivan Drago. Currently the Russians have been dominating the sport of fighting. Whether it’s the Klitschko brothers in the professional world of boxing, and, or now, Fedor Emelianenko in the sport of mixed martial arts. Russia has always been very competitive in whatever sport they choose to compete in. And the US has definitely made their mark in history as well. But it’s their size, strength, do or die attitude, and willingness to win that makes them stand out the most.
There are not that many Russian mixed martial artists in the U.S. MMA market today. Many of the larger promotions such as the UFC and Strikeforce have not found any untapped Russian talent. Sure there are a few fighters here and there including the Emelianenko brothers, Andrei Arlovski, Vladimir Matyushenko, and maybe less than handful of others. But most are signed to either M1 Global or compete in smaller underground promotions in Russia. One thing we can say is that most of the better known Russian fighters today in the sport of mixed martial arts are way beyond their prime. At least the ones mentioned above.
We do know that if we want to see a good brawl or win or die attitude, the UFC and or other major mma organizations will have to sign Russian talent soon. Especially since the Russian mma market has not been tapped into the way the UK and China has been within the UFC and Strikeforce/Dream.
The opportunity of signing the next great Russian American fighter may come sooner than we thought. On Thursday, April 1st, 2010, The Ultimate Fighter will be having tryouts for their 12th successful season for both the Lightweight and Light Heavyweight division in Charlotte, North Carolina. On that day, the UFC and the executive producers from Spike TV will get the chance to witness another Russian fighter with huge talent and huge potential in the sport of mixed martial arts. His name is Max "Payne" Martyniouk. At 6'0" tall and having a strong lean built, Max "Payne' Martyniouk will be competing in the Lightweight division. Max "Payne" Martyniouk may be one of the biggest Lightweight fighters competing in the UFC and will have the chance to witness and hopefully give the opportunity to prove his skill on the 12th season of the Ultimate Fighter.
At 26 years old, Max "Payne" Martyniouk has over 17 years of experience in boxing, kickboxing, sambo, and judo. Trained by his father his whole childhood and throughout his young adulthood, Max definitely has a lot to bring to the table. His father was on the Olympic reserve team for judo in Russia and has been a professional kickboxer and a professional boxer in the past. His grandfather too was a professional boxer and currently his younger brother is undefeated as an athlete in the sport of boxing with an outstanding professional record of 8-0. "It's in our blood to fight," says Max, who currently has a professional record of 4-0 in Russia but has never fought professionally in the United States as a mixed martial artist. "I took a break from the sport for quite some time to help my family with their finances but I never quit training. I never thought the sport of mixed martial arts will develop to the point of where it’s at today. I realized that I was better than the guys who are currently competing in my weight class and decided to drop with what I was doing and get back into the sport as a full time fighter.”
Max was granted his professional MMA license in the beginning of this year in the state of California. "It's not the same in Russia as it is here in the U.S. In Russia we didn't have sanctions or commissions who kept up with the records. We heard that there was an underground event and we went to it to fight. We didn't care about our opponents or how many fights they've had in the past. We didn't even pay attention to the event. We just drove over to the club, went in the back, warmed up, and then we fought. Afterwards we drove off and that was it. I have fought more than just 4 times, especially in the underground market and have been training since I was in 2nd grade. I have never lost a fight and I plan to stay undefeated for my entire mixed martial arts career.”
Max "Payne" Martyniouk decided to fly to Russia after he turned 21 years old to see his relatives. "I have a huge family there, probably over 500 relatives" says Max with laughter. Max did not plan to compete in Russia as an MMA fighter. His cousin, who currently is a boxer, asked if he would be interested to train and possibly compete. "I said, sure, why not. I have nothing to lose. Everything to gain especially with my background." said Max.
Max learned about mixed martial arts when he was 19 years old and got very interested in the sport and because of his athletic background he became more serious after his trip to Russia. "I was always the best, always the fastest, and always the strongest in
whatever sport I competed in. I’m a very fast learner and I analyze every situation very well. I was always stronger than guys my size. I was even stronger than most guys who were 20lbs bigger than me. I thank my father for our family genes, for the discipline, and the way he trained me when I was a kid." said Max.
Max "Payne" Martyniouk won all four of his fights in Russia via KO/TKO. When he returned to the US, he decided to get into business to make money and help his parents with the bills. "I'm very intelligent and I accomplish anything I set my mind to. MMA wasn’t as big as it is today and the fighters were not getting paid as much as they get paid today. You couldn't even take care of your injuries after the fight." said Max. He had a successful business career and even finished a surgical medical program a year and a half ago. After finishing his med program, his father asked him to get back to the sport of MMA. "My father reminded me that I was better, bigger, stronger, and faster than these guys. He told me that with my background and experience I can move up the ladder very fast. I thought about it and felt that I had accomplished everything I have wanted to outside of fighting. That’s when I decided to drop everything and get into the sport of MMA fulltime."
Currently Max “Payne” Martyniouk is sponsored by Convicted Artist, DogBoxer, Serious Pimp, Boxing Hall of Famer Tom McKay, Benny Benavides of Xtreem Jiu Jitsu, Stan “The Man” Martyniouk, Tony Salazar Advanced Boxing Technique, and Mayo Therapy By David. It is only a matter of time before we see this huge talent in the professional sport of MMA. Hopefully the UFC and the executive producers from Spike TV give Max "Payne" Martyniouk the opportunity to compete in the 12 season of the Ultimate Fighter this week or hopefully the UFC gives Max the chance to prove himself on that level without having to be on the TUF reality show. Whatever happens we are sure that there will also be other major organizations such as Strikeforce, or Dream who will be jumping on the opportunity to sign this talent and help him rise to the top of the Lightweight division. "I would definitely like to fight in the UFC, Strikeforce, and even Dream. My main focus is to be the greatest lightweight mixed martial arts fighter in the world and to be the greatest fighter to have ever competed in this sport. I want to make a huge positive impact on the sport of mixed martial arts all over the world and I plan to do it very soon."
