Shtyrkov suggests why Emelianenko drove himself to alcoholism

MMA fighter Ivan Shtyrkov admits that the cause of Alexander Emelianenko's alcoholism was internal worries.

"Emelianenko in pop-MMA and his thrash-tocks? Alexander got into it, but he has a very different story. Alcohol has done its work for brain activity. Sometimes you listen to him - he says the right things. And sometimes you listen and think "What is going on"? I think this man is simply on the edge of two worlds: the old world where he was brought up in that school, and the world he's been dragged into now. Either way, his intermittent states are affecting his central nervous system. That's where his head breaks down.

"I watched the footage when the guys came to him and took him to the hospital. I really started to empathize with him. Was he really the only one left? Weren't there people who would have helped him get out of that state before? Sasha probably has a wounded soul or resentment inside him because of which he leads himself to such states. Something is broken in this man. It's very hard to understand," Shtyrkov said.

On September 18, Emelianenko defeated blogger Artem Tarasov by unanimous decision. The fight was held by the rules of fist fight with MMA gloves.