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Anastasia Stanislavovna Yankova(March 1, Moscow) - Russian athlete and model. Russian champion in Thai boxing. Candidate for Master of Sports.
Repeated winner of the Moscow region and winner of the Russian Muay Thai Cup, participant of the World Championship, winner of the Royal Thai Consulate Cup.
Russian journalists often compare her with American MMA fighter Gina Carano.
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Due to intense training, I was forced to interrupt my studies at a university with a degree in clothing design and concentrate on a professional sports career.
In November 2014, at the “W5” tournament in Bratislava, in the up to 56 kg category, she won a fight (by decision of the judges) with the German Daniela Graf (German) Russian. Seven months later, on June 22, 2015, Anastasia Yankova fought in Moscow at the “Beat the Bone” show, organized by the Boxing Academy. Just like for the previous fight, I prepared with Anton Uberg in the Boxing Academy gym. Anastasia’s opponent was Italian Luana Lorenzoni. The meeting at the “Hit the Bone” tournament ended in victory for the Russian. This is A. Yankova’s tenth victory in her professional kickboxing career with two defeats.
Answering a question about plans for the future for the Internet publication Sports.ru, A. Yankova said: “There is a rough schedule, and if everything goes well, I would like to hold about one fight every two months.” She also noted that, without giving up thoughts about MMA, she wants to concentrate on training in Muay Thai.
Fight according to MMA rules
On October 4, 2013, the White Rex Pro - the Birth of Nation tournament was held in Totem Hall (Moscow), where both well-known and novice professional MMA fighters performed. Anastasia Yankova’s opponent was Eleonora Tassinari (Italy). A. Yankova about psychotypes: “...We were completely different. I was such a girl with long blond hair, and she, with a mohawk, with a stony face, walked through the weigh-in without saying hello, looking very tough.” Nevertheless, in the second round, the Russian woman representing the Boxing Academy team won by painful hold.
On October 23, 2015, after a two-year break, Yankova fought a fight according to MMA rules in St. Petersburg, in which she won a landslide victory.
Statistics in professional MMA
Professional career of a fighter (result) Fights 5 Wins 5 Defeats 0 Knockout 0 0 By surrender 3 0 By decision 2 0
Candidate for Master of Sports.Result Record Rival Way Tournament Date Round Time Place Note Victory 5-0 Split decision Bellator 176 - Carvalho vs. Manhoef 2 April 8, 2017 3 5:00 Palasport Olimpico, Italy Victory 4-0 Veta Arteaga
Split decision Bellator 161 - Kongo vs. Johnson September 16, 2016 3 5:00 Cedar Park,
Russian champion in Thai boxing. Winner of the Royal Thai Consulate Cup.Anastasia Yankova was born on March 1, 1991 in Moscow. She started practicing karate at the age of seven to learn how to protect those who cannot stand up for themselves. In my free time from training, I read and drew a lot. At the age of fourteen she became the winner of the championship of the Central Federal District of Russia, and the prize-winner of the open championship of Moscow in Kyokushinkai karate in her weight.
The pause in sports, from fourteen to nineteen years old, was filled with searching for my place in life, choosing a university and future specialty, designing and drawing. At this time, Anastasia works out in fitness clubs to stay in shape. She received two higher education degrees in design and psychology.
At the age of nineteen, Yankova began training in Thai boxing, and a year later, in 2011, she won the Russian championship in Thai boxing, fulfilling the standard for a candidate master of sports. She continued to perform in the amateur ring until 2012, also practicing combat sambo.
She made her debut as a professional fighter on March 30, 2012 in a fight with Anna Veselova. The fight took place as part of the new fighting project “W5 Fighter”, which took place at the Arena Moscow Club. Anastasia had her second professional fight with Victoria Korkoshko, the best kickboxing fighter in Ukraine, also within the framework of “W5 Fighter”; the girl won both victories on points.
The first defeat in his professional career at the “W5 Fighter” tournament, which took place on December 23, 2012, was a fight with compatriot Yana Lyashko.
At the beginning of October 2013, the White Rex Pro - the Birth of a Nation tournament was held in the Moscow Totem Hall, where both well-known and aspiring professional MMA fighters performed. Anastasia Yankova’s opponent was Eleonora Tassinari. Nevertheless, in the second round, the Russian woman representing the Boxing Academy team won by painful hold.
In November 2014, at the W5 tournament in Bratislava, in the up to 56 kg category, she won a fight with German Daniela Graf. Seven months later, on June 22, 2015, Anastasia Yankova fought in Moscow at the “Beat the Bone” show, organized by the Boxing Academy. Just like for the previous fight, I prepared with Anton Uberg in the Boxing Academy gym. The athlete’s opponent was Italian Luana Lorenzoni. The meeting at the “Hit the Bone” tournament ended in victory for the Russian. This is Yankova’s tenth victory in her professional kickboxing career, with two defeats.
Also in 2015, Yankova fought a fight according to MMA rules in St. Petersburg, in which she won a landslide victory. After that, in 2016, Bellator won two more victories as part of the promotion. In 2017, she had only one fight, which she won by split decision.
At the end of May 2018, at the anniversary tournament Bellator 200, Yankova was defeated, losing by unanimous decision to Kate Jackson.
Anastasia tries to spend her free time from training on her second favorite hobby, design. Thanks to her spectacular appearance and ability to act in front of the camera, the girl often receives offers to appear in various publications as a model. She is best known for her pin-up photo shoot for Menth Health magazine.
Anastasia Yankova is one of the best athletes in Russia. This girl, fragile at first glance, became a champion in Thai boxing more than once and was awarded Cups. Many reputable publishers compare her to the American fighter Gina Joy Carano. In addition to Thai boxing, she is interested in equestrian sports, dancing, journalism and cinema. At the age of 20, she became a candidate of sports and teaches this skill to everyone. For her, sport is the meaning of life.
Kickboxing gives her a feeling of superiority, courage and willpower. Anastasia Yankova believes that Thai boxing is a stunningly beautiful sport that not only allows you to stay physically fit, but also gives you confidence. During the fight, she gives her all, she has her signature blows that allow her to win and stay on top. The athlete likes to spar with men, and during training she gains experience. “Such classes perfectly prepare me for competitions,” says Anastasia.
What is Muay Thai?
So that you understand what Thai boxing is, we will briefly write about this sport. This is an aggressive and fairly tough striking martial arts, in which almost everything is allowed: arms, elbows, legs and knees are used. You can twist your opponent and knee him in the head. The main thing here is to dodge in time and not get hit in the jaw.
To win, you need to have good physical fitness and know the technique of the techniques. It is important to know that this martial art is not based on animal instincts - the sport is aimed at self-respect and the formation of discipline. Anastasia Yankova believes that Thai boxing perfectly develops power, inner strength and removes weaknesses. This helps in real life to cope with a number of problems and look at troubles with optimism.
How inspiration came
Any mother with a beautiful daughter wants her child to engage in feminine sports, such as dancing or gymnastics. But little Nastya chose her own path and signed up for karate at the age of 8. Of course, her parents dissuaded her, but the girl’s firm and unapproachable disposition was difficult to change. All that was left was to accept it and support my daughter in her endeavors.
And what’s most surprising is that the little child really enjoyed mastering the hitting technique. At the age of 16, Nastya changed karate to Thai boxing and for good reason. A sweet, gentle and feminine girl dedicated her youth to this tough martial arts. Within a short period of time, she won the Russian Cup thanks to many hours of training and became an idol for many young beauties.
Anastasia Yankova’s biography turned out well, and she was helped in this by loving parents who always supported their daughter, and an experienced coach who always believed in her student. Now no one will say that Thai boxing is a purely male sport, and Nastya is a living example of this. At her twentieth birthday, the girl took two important steps in her life: she deservedly won a karate tournament in Moscow and entered the university. Her talent is inexhaustible and multifaceted.
How to overcome difficulties
Yankova is not a timid person and easily overcomes injuries and psychological difficulties. Nastya sincerely believes that high results can only be achieved through systematic training and strict adherence to a schedule. The main thing is not to relax, constantly improve your striking and self-defense techniques.
Psychological preparedness and emotional harmony before competitions are of no small importance. And for those who are afraid of bruises and bruises, Anastasia advises to avoid any
Hobbies
Anastasia Yankova also found herself in the modeling business. Her spectacular photographs can be seen in the best magazines. I've posed in underwear more than once. The athlete is also often invited to appear on television in various programs. The girl is passionate about psychology, cinema, and music. Actively involved in charity work. Helps parents and friends. Close and dear people are proud of Nastya and talk about her as a kind, sympathetic and very sensitive person. Thai boxing did not make the girl cruel and aggressive; on the contrary, it gave her strength and inner confidence. No one doubts the athlete’s talent; there are still many unconquered peaks ahead.
Optimism is always with me!
Anastasia Yankova understands well that the sporting age is short-lived, and we need to look for another professional niche in the future. Talking about plans and prospects for the future, the girl noted that she was very interested in creative activities: music, acting and journalism. The world is so multifaceted that it is difficult to settle on one niche. “I want to try all directions,” says the champion.
Life is long, time will put everything in its place and show you the right path. The main thing is that there is desire and opportunity, and everything else will follow. Such a young girl with such correct reasoning cannot fail to achieve success, and we sincerely wish her this! A photo of Anastasia Yankova is presented in our article.
In which the topics of doping in women's MMA, the training process, PR hype around fighters and other topics are touched upon.
Do you have a boyfriend?
“I do not show off my personal life, although nowadays it is customary to show everything that is possible on social networks. But I don’t talk about my personal life with anyone except close people. The only thing that worries everyone is that I have photos with only girls. For those who are concerned, I will say that I am not a lesbian. Sorry girls who write with different sentences."
Do you want to try yourself in cinema or music?
“Why not, I even took acting classes. Maybe someday. Why not? As for music, I definitely can’t sing, but maybe one day I’ll record a rap.”
Rap or Rock?
“One hundred percent rap. I’m an old rapper, if anyone doesn’t know.”
What do you think about ring girl Angelique Anderson's statement regarding her MMA debut?
“In fact, Angelica wrote to me, before that I just knew that there was such a girl, a ring girl. We didn’t know each other, she wrote that we could meet and talk. I don't feel any negativity. The only thing I would like to explain to her is that this is not a game. Anyway, good luck. Anyone can try MMA, but it's not dancing or chess. It is important to realize that after the fight you may have to go to the doctor with a face that will be different from the one you had before entering the cage. If you understand this, then good, good luck, practice. I like people who do what is not expected of them, what they want and do not pay attention to public opinion... Rebellion is cool, but it can end in different ways.”
“When the news appeared that she was going to debut, various MMA-themed public pages began to repost the Georgian girl fighter. And there was a post on the topic of “we are working here, and then some girl, out of nowhere, decided to come to MMA.” “I’m ready to meet her in the ring” and so on... It was funny to me, it’s like some actor decides to try himself in MMA, which, by the way, has already happened, and then someone who has been performing for a long time began to say something like that. Can you imagine that some truly worthy fighter would pay attention to those who were about to debut? Who cares? This behavior was certainly surprising. It’s also surprising that everyone started reposting this and discussing Angelica. It wouldn’t occur to me to challenge her to a fight, because it’s clear that we have different levels. If you want to catch hype by saying that you want to box with a ring girl and supposedly punish her for deciding to come to MMA, this is kind of pathetic, it seems to me.”
How do you like to spend your weekends?
“My days off depend on what period I’m in in my life right now. If I'm preparing for a fight, my weekend is to sleep at home. And I don’t want anything else, because everything hurts, I can only go for a massage. But if this is not a period of preparation, then it could be something interesting, you can go somewhere and chat with friends and so on. But since I never drink at all, and my friends are mostly the same, it’s unlikely to be some kind of club, but it will still be fun and cool.”
Who do you think is the sexiest MMA fighter?
« This is a very tricky question, I will not answer it, because I communicate with many people and do not want to offend anyone. But it seems to me that just a pumped-up man with a six-pack is not always sexy, but if you are a fighter and you have the character of a fighter, then this already makes you sexy. And if you are also smart, then this is an absolutely super set. But I won’t say specific names - let it be a secret.”
Does it interfere?PR-hype to concentrate on preparation?
“It’s a strange question, this is a professional sport, not an amateur one. If you don’t want attention around your person, then practice as an amateur. I remember when I competed in Thai boxing, as an amateur, then no one was interested in this except athletes. There was no fuss. But if you are involved in MMA professionally, then you understand that this is not only a sport, but also a business and people make money from it. And it’s probably impossible to do this without a certain hype and hype, and so on. You need to learn to combine it all and not go crazy. I don’t think that this somehow interferes or affects the psyche.”
Are there fundamental differences in the approach to training between women and men? What are the differences in attitude towards girls between Russian and foreign gyms?
« As for the approach to the training process of female or male fighters, everyone trains together and there are no particular differences. Everyone trains and everyone plows, what’s more important is your weight and your level. It’s clear that a girl of a very high level will most likely be on par with a guy who is an above-average fighter. But there’s nothing you can do about it, that’s how nature works. Unless, of course, you take into account steroids and hormonal therapy, but then this won’t be a conversation about women. As for the attitude in foreign gyms, they take it more simply, of course. I think because here in Russia this sport is very young and in general, in principle, women in martial arts is something new, but in America this will not surprise anyone. And in general, attitudes towards women and the position of women in society also differ - how they should look, what they should say, how they should behave. In principle, if we talk about America, people there by and large don’t care what you look like, they have a positive attitude towards the path that you have chosen. And in Russia there are still a lot of stereotypes that sit in our heads and the proximity of very categorical cultures and religions, territorial proximity, I mean. This leaves an imprint, of course, and therefore many are surprised: “How is it possible, a woman in the gym, among men, this is not normal, she should sit at home, wait for her husband from training,” and so on. There is no such thing in America, but in some of our heads it still sits. So there is a difference and quite significant.”
What is your opinion of Bellator at the moment?
“As for Bellator. The first time I went to a press conference in Italy, I was very scared because I realized that I would have to speak in English, with which I was not very comfortable. At that moment I did not try to speak it. And then I realized that I would have to communicate in English, there would be interviews with journalists, and this really scared me. Plus, I understood that Bellator is a huge, global organization. But when I arrived there, met all these people, it turned out that they were so friendly, so responsible for my requests, so understanding... I was received so well that I quickly felt comfortable and I realized that these were not just professionals in their field business, but also really cool guys. They are by no means pretentious, there is no such thing there at all. And as for both fighters and organizers, and even now, when I go to tournaments and events, I forget that these are people from a different culture and speaking a different language, because we do the same thing and believe in the same things . And I think that thanks to this attitude towards people, thanks to the fact that this is not a huge soulless money-making machine, many fighters are now moving to Bellator. And of course, greater freedom to work with sponsors and the situation with fees also plays a role.”
“About Rhonda, a lot of dirt has been poured out now and it’s unpleasant for me to read all this. She is still an athlete who has won 90% of the division and she remains a top level athlete. Everyone has the right to make a mistake, including her. And this hatred that is constantly around her - it stresses me out, I absolutely do not share it. Many, if not all, female fighters would not have a future in the sport if it weren't for Ronda. She really did a lot for the sport, for women, if it weren’t for her, it’s unknown what women’s MMA would look like now.”
“But people forget that. I don’t want to compare myself with anyone, but I saw when girls came to the gym after watching some of my videos and they came all charged up and said: I saw you on TV, I wanted to train, I wanted to do it like you , I realized that this is possible, thanks for the motivation. And some time passes, these girls start performing and this respect disappears somewhere, and they catch a star. They already forget what they talked about in their first days in the hall. What I mean is that Rhonda has the same thing, only on a much larger scale, a million times larger. I can imagine what she feels, what a huge pressure this is. I continue to believe in her, she still evokes only sympathy in me, and before judging someone, as they say, walk in his shoes.”
“We don’t know what happened in her life, we don’t know what made her like this, whether it’s an image or whether she really is like that. I think that all these commentators wouldn’t last a round with her. But it has always been like this - someone says, and someone does. In general, it seems to me that Rhonda has already done a lot for this sport and for this we can thank her. And the disrespect that is being expressed to her now, in particular by athletes, looks very flawed, to be honest.”
There have been a lot of doping scandals in MMA lately, what do you think about this in women's MMA? Should doping controls be tightened?
“It seems to me that there is no room to tighten things up; at this rate, cottage cheese will soon be banned. After this unfortunate Mildronate, vitamins will probably be banned. Already, many dietary supplements that you can buy in a sports store are prohibited, and many components of medications, for example, for colds, which you can drop into your nose or drink without thinking, are also prohibited. And before you buy or add something to your diet, you need to go to the website or consult a nutritionist, because this list, in addition to being huge, is also constantly updated. Now I can’t go to a regular sports nutrition store and just buy some supplements, and these are the most common, publicly available supplements.”
“Everything is already very strict, and every joint supplement, every vitamin complex can no longer be used. Although they are used by ordinary athletes, and you would not imagine that this is something prohibited. And they can test you not only before the fight, but also at any time during preparation - so I don’t know how stricter it would be. Sometimes, it seems to me that this is already reaching the point of absurdity. It’s one thing when we’re talking about some hormonal drugs, anabolic steroids, and so on, but it’s another thing when we’re talking about supplements that are sold in sports nutrition stores. This just creates unnecessary problems, you need to constantly go to the website, look at the list of these substances, consult with a nutritionist - this vitamin is ok, but this one is not, because they can affect something or hide something.”
Interviews with other fighters and various exclusive articles can be found in the section on our website
At the age of twenty, Anastasia Yankova won the Russian Federation championship in Thai boxing. A significant part of domestic citizens are not able to distinguish this sport from an ordinary fight without rules. However, a federation has long been formed in the country and sections and clubs operate in large cities. According to her personal data, Yankova was born on March 1, 1991 in an ordinary Soviet family. Parents lived in Moscow. The child grew up in a favorable environment. The girl was taught to be neat and independent.
The mother wanted her daughter to take up dancing. They bought Nastya roller skates and a bicycle. But for the growing Yankova, the karate section turned out to be much more interesting. Perhaps the reason for this exotic hobby was the television programs of that time. In the early 90s, with the help of television, a cult of violence and permissiveness was instilled in the population traumatized by the collapse of the USSR. Anastasia saw in real life how people around them live when the strong humiliate the weak with pathological pleasure.
Sports achievements
From first to ninth grade, Nastya regularly and persistently worked out in the gym, which was located not far from her home. At first, her sports career was successful for her. At the age of fourteen, Yankova was among the winners at the Moscow Karate Championship. Muay Thai specialists paid attention to the promising athlete. In terms of her physical and volitional qualities, she was optimally suited for this type of martial arts. After a short preparation, Anastasia successfully performed at the national championship.
Yankova’s sports biography was uneven. In 2012, she had three fights in the professional ring. Lost the third fight. To relieve psychological stress, I interrupted the performance for a year and a half and took up my education. Anastasia wanted to become a clothing designer. But in 2014 she returned to work in the ring. The reason for the return is as simple as three kopecks - she received a very substantial fee for participating in the reality show “Hit the Bone”.
Private side
It should be noted that the famous athlete periodically took breaks from her sports career. As a rule, the belly lasts up to two years. These are forced breaks, during which Anastasia restored her hormonal levels and put her body in order. When thyroid dysfunction begins, there is nothing to do in the ring. It is not difficult to guess that Yankova simply does not have a personal life, much less love in the literal sense of the word.
In her free time from training and performing, Anastasia tries to do her favorite thing - clothing design. She is not getting married yet and is not looking after her husband. According to some experts, Yankova will no longer be able to give birth to a child.
