St. Petersburg has assembled its strongest heavyweight MMA team in 20 years, since the legendary Red Devil era, with a notable roster now training in the city. The group includes Kirill Kornilev (18-3), Alexander Maslov (12-1), Anton Vinnikov (18-5), Daniil Matsola (7-0), Artem Dushenko (6-3 at 93kg), Dmitry Baboryko (2-0, a young Greco-Roman wrestling master), Denis Goltsov (36-9), and Anton Vyazigin (17-6) who regularly attends training camps. Most of these fighters compete in ACA, where the high level of competition means losses are inevitable, but strong records there indicate world-class skill. Two upcoming interesting matchups feature Kirill Kornilev versus Tony Johnson and Daniil Matsola versus Khadis Ibragimov, with Ibragimov also having developed professionally in St. Petersburg.
