The man who knows where to hit

Andrey “Bupas” Ivichuk is the most fashionable boxing coach in Russia. He has celebrities, pop stars and members of the Forbes 100 list, his devoted students enter the ring with a prescribed battle plan and know how to find a weak point of the opponent. A fan of Castaneda, who has gone from a small Belarusian town and small street “moots” to the main American fighting arenas and clubs, is changing the face of Russian boxing. Longread.

In the world of UFC flyweight fighters, Brazilian John Lineker was considered a killer. On February 1, 2014, Russian Ali Bagautinov was supposed to fight him, and the risk of being knocked out was great: John’s three previous opponents did not last even two rounds. Lineker’s little secret was discovered by Ali’s coach, Andrei “Bupas” Ivichuk: he watched his fights and noticed that it was very difficult for the Brazilian to fight left-handers. Right-hander Bagautinov tried to train in a left-handed stance – and it turned out that he was good at it. For several weeks of preparation, Ali worked like a left-hander, but in all promo videos, posts on social networks and in open training he again became “right-handed”.

The trick worked. Lineker was discouraged and could not line up with the enemy, who stood to him in the mirror image of a regular stance. The Brazilian’s usual trump cards did not work, it was not possible to deliver the blow. Bagautinov threw him to the floor and confidently hit the waste, while John desperately followed him, hoping to catch him with one powerful blow.

The victory over Lineker made Bagautinov a contender for the UFC title. Ali became the first Russian in the 21st century to achieve a fight for the champion belt of the most prestigious promotion in the world of mixed martial arts. And for Andrey Ivichuk, this episode has become a visiting card, proof that his methods work at the world level.