This was stated in an interview with MVP Media by the executive director of the Russian organization Nikolai Klimenko.
“Tokov – Ismailov, this is the fight that I want to organize,” Klimenko said. “Actually, we discussed it, and I would do it at the end of the year. We talked, and there is such a moment that Bellator can let Tokov go. He had a fight for the belt, and he lost it, thereby opening up the opportunity to compete with us. This is the fight that I think everyone would like to see.”
The first fight between Russian middleweights took place ten years ago under the banner of M-1 Global and ended with the victory of Tokov Kimura in the first round.
Last month, 33-year-old Anatoly Tokov made an unsuccessful attempt to take away the Bellator championship belt from Johnny Eblin, losing to the American by unanimous decision after five rounds, and 36-year-old Magomed Ismailov made a successful debut in professional boxing the day before, winning by a majority of judges’ votes from Ivan Shtyrkov at RCC Boxing tournament in Yekaterinburg.