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US born fighter Monson to stay true to MMA roots in final bout of career

Monson is known for his love of Russia and its Soviet past

MOSCOW, June 27. /TASS/. Russia’s US-born mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter Jeff Monson told TASS on Tuesday that he will close out his career in a fight held under MMA regulations in the closing weeks of August.

"The opponent has not yet been determined. The fight is scheduled for August’s closing weekend and will, of course, take place under MMA regulations," Monson said.

Jeffrey William Monson, 52, nicknamed "The Snowman," hails from the US state of Minnesota. As a mixed martial arts fighter, he has 85 fights to his name, chalking up 60 wins. He is also a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu World Champion. His last fight was in the Russian city of Belgorod on October 22, 2016, when he defeated Alex "Bizon" Kardo of Russia, using a chokehold.

The American fighter was granted Russian citizenship in May 2018 and in September of that year he was elected to the Council of Deputies (City Council) of the Krasnogorsk District, Moscow Region, an inner suburb of the neighboring City of Moscow.

Monson is known for his love of Russia and its Soviet past. On many occasions, he has appeared in the ring to the tune of the Soviet national anthem. In 2016, he became an honorary citizen of Abkhazia; in 2017, he received a passport from the Lugansk People’s Republic in the Donbass region.

In late April 2023, the legendary MMA fighter, who also serves as a city councilor in a Moscow suburb, announced to TASS that he intended to renounce his American citizenship because of his opposition to the current policies of the United States government.

According to other reports this April, Monson filed papers stating his intention to run for a seat in the legislative assembly of the central Russian region of Bashkortostan, formally known as the State Assembly - Kurultai of the Republic of Bashkortostan, as a candidate of United Russia, the country’s ruling party.

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