AnatolyTokov
Born: February 17, 1990 (Age: 32) in Tobolsk,Russia
Division: Middleweight
Height: 5’10”
Reach: 73”
Record: 31-2 (7-0 Bellator)
Association: Alexander Nevsky
Stage of Career: Prime
Advertisem*nt
Summary: Tokov is a well-balanced fighter with noeasily exploitable weaknesses. He is a good, technical striker whois also strong and dangerous in the clinch. He has excellentfootwork, moves well and has sound defense. Plus, he is anexcellent wrestler, especially in the clinch and even against othergrapplers, and he can finish many fights from the top. Moreover,Tokov has superb cardio. However, there are shortcomings in thegrappling and striking departments that keep him from being morepotent in those phases. In regards to his striking, his left hookis poor and his leg kicks are light; and, in general, his handspeed is fairly slow. In terms of grappling, Tokov’s top control islimited, so while he can get takedowns against almost anyone andhas proven to be lethal if he stays on top, he has a hard timekeeping opponents grounded. Still, he is incredibly tough to beatdue to the well-rounded nature of his skills. His own takedowndefense is stellar, and he is difficult to hit in standupexchanges.
STRIKING
• Stance: Orthodox, though he can occasionallyswitch to southpaw.
• Hand Speed: Below average.
• Jab: A mixed bag. It is incredibly heavy,straight and accurate—he hurt GeraldHarris badly with it—but also slow, so he does not land itoften. It is not much of a setup for his other shots.
• Right Cross: While slow, it has almost everyother quality one would want. Thrown with solid technique andaccuracy, it is plenty hard. He tries to make up for the slownessby being sneaky with it, which often works.
• Left Hook: Not only is it slow, but it is weakand lacks rotation.
• Overhand Right: Carries similar properties tothe right cross, but it is slightly faster and even more sudden.Tokov would benefit by throwing it more.
• Uppercuts: Technical and hard, but they lackspeed.
• Solitary Striker or Volume Puncher: A one-shotsniper.
• Favorite Combination(s): When an opponent coversup, he prefers to throw the left uppercut with his right cross.
• Leg Kicks: Mediocre, as he does not turn hisbody into them enough.
• Body Kicks: Accurate and quite hard.
• Head Kicks: Appears to be a dynamic blow withnice flexibility, but he has not hurt anyone with it, let aloneauthored knockout with it, at his current level.
• Chains Kicks to Punches: No.
Tokov’s striking game is hampered by his subpar hand speed. Heis aware of it, though, which is one reason why he throws only apunch at a time unless an opponent is hurt, as firing off too manyin a row would make him easy to counter. However, he makes up forthis weakness with punches that are generally technical, accurateand hard. The jab is an interesting mix of these qualities, as itis devastating when it lands, but he struggles to connect with itdue to its lack of speed. His right cross and overhand right arehis two best punches, being sneaky, hard and accurate—with theoverhand being a little faster than his other punches.Unfortunately, his left hook is weak and poses little threat toopponents. His leg kicks are also quite light, though his bodykicks are strong and dangerous. Defensively, Tokov is difficult tohit, with textbook parallel feet, constant movement—back and forthand laterally—and plenty of bobbing and weaving.
CLINCH
• Physical Strength: Looks incredibly powerful andbullies other strong grapplers.
• Technique: Textbook movement and features somegorgeous takedowns.
• Knees: Hard and accurate.
• Elbows: Does not throw them.
• Defense Against Knees/Elbows: Opponents struggleto even throw them in the face of Tokov’s own offense.
Tokov is perhaps at his most dangerous in the clinch. Not onlyis he outstanding at taking down opponents, but he abuses them withknees and uppercuts if they stay upright.
GRAPPLING
• Wrestling from a Shot: Prefers to wrestle from aclinch, though he can hold his own in this area. Tokov also cancatch kicks neatly. Tokov’s grappling can be fearsome. He is outstanding at gettingtakedowns from the clinch, especially through trips and hip tosses,and he is almost impossible to take down himself. He has atremendous five-finger guillotine from the top, as well as some ofthe best ground-and-pound in the middleweight division, with abrutal series of punches and elbows. Unfortunately, there is onedownside to this cycle: His relatively limited top control, whichallows opponents too much space to get up. Oftentimes, he needsmultiple takedowns or for opponents to fatigue for his game to betruly effective. It should be noted, however, that opponents who donot get up immediately wind up in serious trouble. Tokov excels atprogressing to the crucifix position, at which point he becomesdevastating with his thudding right hands.
• Wrestling in the Clinch: Features an outstandingbody lock into an outside or inside trip. Can also turn the outsidetrip into a single-leg. Tokov has a beautiful hip toss at hisdisposal, as well. He can use these weapons against good grapplers,as he did against Harris and HrachoDarpinyan.
• Takedown Defense: Enormously strong, immediatelysecures underhooks and can even turn defense into offense, as wasthe case when Darpinyan’s shot was rewarded with a hip toss leavinghim on his own back.
• Ability to Return to Feet: Difficult to say, ashe has not been on his back in quite some time.
• Submissions: Excellent, but he leans on onego-to technique—an absolutely brutal five-finger guillotine chokethat has caused many fighters to tap instantly, Harris amongthem.
• Defense/Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu from the Bottom: Anunknown due to the fact that he rarely if ever winds up in adisadvantageous position.
• Top Control: Gives opponents too much space torise back up. Oddly, he does better when he gets a wrestling ride,as he fights for wrist control. •Ground-and-Pound: Absolutely vicious, brutalpunches that he puts his body into nicely, as his lack of handspeed does not factor into the equation as much. Also hastremendous elbows in his repertoire. Tokov has proven superb atsecuring the crucifix position and pounding out opponents fromthere.
INTANGIBLES
• Athleticism/General Physical Strength: Generallypowerful but lacks speed and agility.
• Cardio: Does not slow down at all over thecourse of 3 rounds and even seems to grow stronger as fightsprogress.
• Chin: He can be hurt by huge connections butweathers almost anything else well, even some flush shots.
• Recuperative Powers: Amazingly survived afterbeing knocked down and badly hurt by a perfect overhand left fromHarris. Even after further ground-and-pound knocked him down asecond time, he quickly got to his feet, got his bearings andfought back quickly and well.
• Intelligence: Fights in a consistently calm,smart manner, and he has managed to make up for his lack of handspeed in a variety of ways.
