- On 26 November, the first-ever hybrid competitions in Mortal Kombat 11 and MMA were held in Kazan as part of the Phygital Games. MK TEAM from Buynaksk, Anzor Abzhamov and Khabib Magomedov, won the phygital tournament, scoring the most points in total;
- Competition triumphants received the Phygital Flame trophy and prize money in the amount of 700 thousand rubles;
- Valery Brave Heart Gritsutin was unbeatable in the “Best knockout” nomination. UFC fighter Petr Yan also praised the athlete’s skills: “A good counter hit, he made it perfectly. Valery is evidently a guy with a strong-willed character and fighting experience. He won in the class”;
- In total, 6 teams from four countries took part in the phygital fighting: Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Iran.
How the tournament went: Fighters paired by the draw, went into the octagon with joysticks and Mortal Kombat in place waiting for them. After the virtual battle, the video cube with the play station was soaring above the octagon, and the athletes got down to fighting according to the MMA rules. The points of both parts were summed up. The audience could also influence the result by voting for the fighter in three categories: “Best knockout”, “Best fighter”, “For creativity”. A virtual hero was acting as the ring announcer streaming from a huge screen. Read more here.
Winners: MK TEAM won the digital tournament represented by the MMA fighter Khabib Jitser Magomedov and the current fighter of the Eagle Fighting Championship league Anzor Hunter Abzhamov from the Republic of Dagestan.
“Playing Mortal Kombat was the hardest part for me – to be honest, I didn’t have much practice in this. My teammate and I trained in the gym more often. But I enjoyed it, I had a strong opponent,” Anzor Abzhamov commented.
“I came here to the tournament not because of the prize money. It was just exciting to participate in the show, to try myself in something new. My participation was in question, because during the weight race I had a fever, and in this condition, I had to lose weight. It’s good that everything came off,” said Khabib Magomedov.
The triumphants of the competition were handed the Phygital Flame trophy and prize money in the amount of 700 thousand rubles.
The second place was taken by BRAVE HEART featuring the champion in kickboxing of the Southern Federal District Roman Black Lion Avdal and master of sport in combat sambo and grappling Valery Brave Heart Gritsutin. Gritsutin got additional points based on the results of the audience voting for the best knockout in the fight against Serikbay Khodzhabaev from CASPIYAN MEGALADONS. The knockout was highly praised by Petr Yan. “A good counter hit, he made it perfectly. Valery is evidently a guy with a strong-willed character and fighting experience. He won in the class,” the former UFC champion noted.
The ALLIANCE team from Kazan, Fedor Alekseev and Rim Khaziakhmetov closed the top three winners. The audience gave them additional points in the “Best team” and “For creativity” categories.
“I wouldn’t call Phygital Games a gimmick. This is an innovation. We must recognise that technology plays a big role in our lives. And you either keep up with the times, or you stay put. As for this tournament, the opponents were selected at approximately the same level, being on par with each other in terms of training. I think the audience liked the tough fight,” Petr Yan said.
“There is something to it. Petya Yan and I were sitting there, cheering on, feeling worried. For whom exactly? I usually supported the one who had the hardest start in a virtual fight. It was interesting to see if the fighter would be able to overweigh the score in his favour in the octagon,” Nikita Nagorny shared his impressions.
The Phygital Games programme will continue with a hockey tournament (NHL 22 + 3-on-3 hockey) to take place at Tatneft Arena on 9-10 December. The games are held in the run-up to the international “Games of Future” tournament scheduled for 2024 in Kazan.