MOSCOW, April 22. /TASS/. Titled US-born MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) fighter Jeff Monson, who was granted the Russian citizenship last year, visited the Mausoleum on Red Square with Russian Communist leader Gennady Zyuganov to commemorate the birthday of Bolshevik leader Vladimir Lenin.
After visiting the tomb of the Bolshevik leader Lenin, born on April 22, 1870, Monson told journalists he decided to join the delegation of Communists paying their tribute on the birthday of the former Soviet leader since he believed Communism to be the path of equality and freedom of all people in the world.
Zyuganov said in turn that "Lenin was the first one in the world who proposed forming the kingdom of justice, where labor, friendship and respect toward children, women and elderly define the essence of the government’s policies."
Before entering the Mausoleum, Zyuganov asked the MMA fighter whether it was his first visit to the tomb of Lenin and Monson replied "Yes."
Nicknamed ‘The Snowman’ and boasting a record of 84 fights (58 wins, 25 losses, 1 draw) in mixed martial arts competitions Monson was born in Olympia, the state of Washington, on January 18, 1971.
The 45-year-old fighter is the two-time winner of the ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championship, and a No Gi Brazilian jiu-jitsu World Champion.
Among numerous tattoos on his body, Monson sports two tattoos in Russian saying ‘svoboda’ (freedom) and ‘solidarnost’ (solidarity). Tattoos of Hammer and Sickle (a symbol of former Soviet Union) a red and black star are also inked on Monson’s body.
In one of Moscow tattoo salons last year, Monson made a tattoo running up the whole length of his left thigh with the image of Russia’s world-famous monument, The Motherland Calls. The monument, located on the Mamayev Kurgan in the Russian city of Volgograd, was erected to commemorate the heroic feat of the Soviet soldiers in one of the bloodiest WWII battles known as the Battle of Stalingrad.