Yevkurov to Vestnik Kavkaza: ‘Battle in the Mountains is an image of Ingushetia

The 5th anniversary international tournament of MMA M-1 Challenge ‘Battle in the Mountains’ started today in the picturesque mountain village of Ingushetia, Targim. The correspondent of Vestnik Kavkaza on the sidelines of the competition talked with the head of Ingushetia, Yunus-Bek Yevkurov and the organizers of the competition, Vadim Finkelstein and Alikhan Yandiyev.

"In principle the first tournament actually met all our expectations, and even beyond that. We did not think that there would be such an effect. First of all, it gives such an effect, because it is held under the open sky. When we were planning it with Vadim (Vadim Finkelstein, the president of the international company M-1 Global)  this tournament at that time, we did it in a number of reasons, one of them was a difficult situation in the press, in the media, in the regions of Russia as a whole -constantly there were bad news about Ingushetia. Then, when the movement on the tourism cluster originated, we studied all the pros and cons, and Vadim said, where and how the tournaments were held, including in the United States, in Colorado, on the open-air arena, in the canyons. We studied this all, watched and decided that after all we need to organize such an event in Ingushetia, in the mountains. And here we beat not just one, two, but five birds with one stone . We got to the point. The first tournament showed this effect and the subsequent as well’’,  the head of Ingushetia, Yunus-Bek Yevkurov said.

The effect was not only for Ingushetia, but also for the whole Caucasus, the president of the international company M-1 Global, Vadim Finkelstein, joined the conversation. ‘’There are a lot of clubs everywhere, they hold a lot of competitions. And the essence of this event, probably, I do not know any other similar competition, that the event is carried out in such a beautiful place, in the mountains. And this was the idea of Yunus-Bek Yevkurov. He said that it could be done, then I said, ‘’Let's try!’’ Generally, it was our idea’’,  the president of M-1 Global said proudly.

"The idea, wishes. Then it was very difficult to bring Vadim here, he was walking here with fear, looking around everywhere. In addition to promoting of a healthy lifestyle, there is also an image element. The image is that the Republic of Ingushetia has started to sound in a good way in many countries of the world. And this is not only due to the fact that we are shown live here, but also due to those athletes, who come here, who fall in love with nature, people. This is probably the most important image -they see a republic, and they see our great country through it. Therefore, of course, it is pretty good and promising. We will increase all this with every year.  The second theme was born on ‘Battle in the Mountains’, ‘Battle of Narts’, this time in Nazran, on the plane. And this year we will hold it in the new Palace of Sports for 5 thousand people. This is a good large-scale action. On the basis of  ‘Battle in the Mountains" we train young people through various types of events, such as the road to M-1. And, as I said, clubs and so on. This is promising’’,  the head of Ingushetia added.

"I would like to say thanks to the head of the republic: this is his project, he created it, he made it, and I think it is well done’’, the co-founder of M-1 Global and the Vice-President of the International Mixed Martial Arts Association (WMMAA), Alikhan Yandiev, said.

"We support it, we are together, and we will do these events better and better each year, bring here the best fighters in the world, show them to all the world. Our audience is  more than a hundred countries, whose residents are watching these fights. Here is a favorable climate for tourists, it is very nice and beautiful here. God bless all involved in sports, be healthy, look M-1’’, Alikhan Yandiev concluded.

The competition marks the 24th anniversary of the Day of  Republic and is held on the backdrop of the delightful scenery of mountainous Ingushetia, near the Targimskaya basin of the Jeirakh  district. The arena for the fights, the fighting ring and bleachers for spectators are in the open air, surrounded by the majestic mountains and medieval monuments of the Ingush architecture.