Minakov: Yankova has everything ahead

Russian MMA fighter Vitaly Minakov appreciated the prospects of Anastasia Yankova. On Saturday, she lost to British Kate Jackson at the Bellator 200 tournament. This defeat was first for the Russian in her career.

"I would not say that Yankova is overrated," Minakov said. “She behaves quite correctly, rather modestly, without superfluous outrage, acts as it turns out. She had only six fights, everything is ahead of her. She had a good amateur career. After the defeat from Jackson, perhaps she needed to change something, change in the training process. Defeats are good for thinking athlete. She should be all right, she loves the sport.

“In my opinion, she did a lot wrong. For example, she did not need to kick her feet from a short distance," Minakov said. "She has a good hitting technique, she needs to use it, but it would be better to focus on her hands. If she kept the distance with her hands, not with legs, then there would be more chances to get into the stance and not be there. Nastya's legs are slow, the blows are tight, although strong. The rival easily intercepted her legs and transferred the fight to the ground. Nastya has a good boxing skills, they need to be used.

“What would I advise her if I was a coach? Kick Less, more knees and hands. The main thing for her is hands and defense from the wrestling. Learning to wrestle in adulthood is impossible, I do not believe in such miracles. Only to learn to stand on your feet and feel the body takes five years. This is before the throws. So you can only learn to defend yourself from the wrestling. I always set Mirko Filipovic as an example. He did not wrestle, but he defended himself beautifully and achieved great successes in his time," Minakov said.