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Monson’s MMA rematch with Taktarov slated for next month postponed indefinitely — fighter

According to Jeff Monson, the fight will take place in February and will be the last in his fighting career

MOSCOW, November 27. /TASS/. The rematch between Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fighters Jeff Monson and Oleg Taktarov, initially scheduled for next month, has now been postponed indefinitely, Monson told TASS on Monday.

Monson and Taktarov fought each other in a boxing match on August 18, with the bout ending in a draw. A source on Monson’s team announced to TASS last Friday that both fighters would meet for a rematch on December 15, but this time to square off under MMA rules.

"The fight will not be held on December 15. It will take place in February and will be the last in my fighting career," Monson said.

Russian fighter and international movie star Oleg Taktarov, aged 56 and dubbed "The Russian Bear," has a record of 17 wins, five defeats and two draws. In addition to winning the sixth Ultimate Fighting Championship MMA event (UFC-6) in 1995, Taktarov has appeared in numerous Hollywood movies, including "Air Force One," "Predators," "Bad Boys 2," "Righteous Kill" and many others.

Jeffrey William Monson, 52, dubbed "The Snowman," hails from the state of Minnesota, the United States. In his MMA career, Monson has fought 85 times, chalking up 60 wins. He is also a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu World Champion. His last fight was in Belgorod, Russia, on October 22, 2016, when he defeated Russian fighter Alex "Bizon" Kardo, using a chokehold.

Monson announced to TASS in September that he had been elected to a seat in the regional parliament of the Russian Republic of Bashkortostan following Russia’s Single Voting Day elections.

The US-born MMA fighter was granted Russian citizenship in May 2018 and in September of that year was elected to the Council of Deputies (City Council) in 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 strains of the Soviet national anthem. In 2016, he was awarded the title of honorary citizen of Abkhazia; in 2017, he became a citizen of the Lugansk People’s Republic in the Donbass region.

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