A Russian MP known for his anti-LGBT views had mercy taken upon him by a 60-year-old cult actor and singer in a farcical fight in Moscow, held in an MMA cage under boxing rules which were subject to last-minute confusion.
State Duma deputy Vitaly Milonov, who hit the headlines during Euro 2020 after asking for a game between Germany and Hungary to be slapped with an over-18s warning because because the Mannschaft goalkeeper wore a rainbow armband to support LGBT+ rights, took on Russian-Ukrainian celebrity and more experienced combatant Nikita Dzhigurda in a cage in Moscow.
The 47-year-old politician wore a pair of blue gloves, blue shorts and a t-shirt as the pair did battle, with Russian MMA veteran Alexander Emelianenko reputedly declaring 60-year-old Dzhigurda the winner despite no official result being recorded after the three allocated rounds.
Milonov appears to have shrugged off suggestions that he was hurt in the brawl, putting any shortcomings down to inexperience and vowing to rematch an opponent known for playing historical figures on film, including King Charles XII of Sweden.
The United Russia representative also reportedly claimed that he had been deceived by Dzhigurda taking the fight more seriously than he had said he would.
According to a Match TV account, it was "hard to believe" that the fight, which had been announced in September, was taking place in front of around 50 people with headshots prohibited.
The first two rounds are said to have taken place "almost without any exchange of blows" before Dzhigurda twice decked Milonov, who he said had asked for a change of rules just before the fight so that shots to the head and liver were now allowed, as well as mentioning that punches were hurting once the scrap began.
Ex-fighter Alexei Prokofiev trained Milonov, revealing that the MP had four workouts with him.
"There was little training: there were things that distracted him, many other nuances," he said.
"When we were already in the cage, Vitaly discussed with his assistant that he and Dzhigurda would not deliver blows to the head. But the referee came in the ring and said that blows to the head are allowed, and because of this there was an embarrassment and a pause.
"Milonov was preparing for battle, believing that it was agreed with the other side that there were no blows to the head. Therefore, Nikita was only informed before the fight that it would be without blows to the head.
"I think that this should not be so: spectators and athletes suffer, and this does not even look like a freak fight."
Speaking of the potential risks involved, Prokofiev said Milonov "understood that it could end that way, based on the training that he had."
"I think that he did a lot, considering that he has six children, such a status, [at his] age. I don't even know why he needs [to do] it."
The leaner-looking Dzhigurda said he had abstained from sex with his wife, two-time French Olympic champion and former Soviet Union junior ice dancing champion Marina Anissina, for six months, and was even contemplating trying her sport.
"Sometimes, once every six months, I can, of course, sublimate energy," he added.
"I am engaged in occult practices, I have a pagan-Vedic altar at home. I was the first artist who was shown on the central channels six years ago with Slavic signs, because I went like a negative character and they allowed it."
The thespian is now targeting a huge payday against feared powerhouse Emelianenko.
"When a person looks at you in the third round with a pleading look... I understand that he is a deputy, not a fighter," he said of taking mercy on his political opponent.
"So this is a warm-up to show Sasha Emelianenko [what I can do]. I need to get paid for it, like all fights.
"Then I will gain 95 kilograms, I will go to the gym, not in MMA [gear], but in boxing gloves, because I'm not used to them.
"[I will] show that I'm not afraid of Sasha. He's a great fighter, of course. Muhammad Ali is my [most] beloved [fighter]. When I, as an artist, enter the role, I enter the role for six months, gain weight... and I can do it."
While Dzhigurda posted several times about the fight on his Instagram account, Milonov seems to have preferred to concentrate his posts on his political activities.
He told Gazeta: “There will be a rematch – I just need to learn to at least somehow do this business [of fighting]. I’ll prepare for a year, so I’ll beat him."
Milonov courted more outrage in August when he was warned by the Human Rights Council after calling for gay people to be "sterilized" and kept in "shelters" like cats.
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