Russian bear or Japanese samurai? Legendary fight of Alexander Karelin in the ring in Japan!

The first and last fight of the legendary Alexander Karelin in MMA. The fight took place in 1999 in Tokyo against Japanese pro-wrestler and creator of Rings Akira Maeda. At that time, MMA was not yet fully established and each promotion used its own version of the rules - sometimes quite extravagant. So the RINGS organization had its own traditions: Karelin and Maeda could not kick or punch on the ground, while in a standing position they were allowed to attack with legs or open palms. At the same time, work on the ground was allowed to be interrupted by simply grabbing the ropes - for this they simply deducted one point. In general, it was quite possible to call it mixed martial arts, although there were many differences from the current format.
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