On Wednesday, the UTMA combat sports organization officially signed contracts with three fighters from the “Sparta Gym” club – Edvinas Šalkovskij, Henrikas Vikšraitis, and Raimondas Avlasevičius – and reached a verbal agreement with Sergejus Maslobojevas.
At a special press conference held at the “Žalgirio” arena, R. Avlasevičius, who signed the contract, mentioned that one of the main motivations for moving to UTMA was the desire to compete against some Lithuanian fighters.
“I feel good, but I always feel good because I always hope for good fights, and I believe this organization can provide them. There are many Lithuanians I haven’t fought against, and one of my motivations is to test my strength against other Lithuanians. I have had several fights against Lithuanian fighters, but there are still some I haven’t faced, and they talk a lot,” said R. Avlasevičius.
When asked about specific opponents he might want to face, R. Avlasevičius didn’t want to single out anyone in particular but hinted at Dovydas “Rimkenzo” Rimkus.
“I don’t have one person who has become a nuisance because fighters don’t really affect me with their talk. They affect my clubmates. All fights are interesting, and it would also be interesting to fight Dovydas Rimkus, who is now in my weight category,” said R. Avlasevičius.
What about Martynas Jasiūnas or Mindaugas Narauskas?
“That’s a fact. All fights with good fighters are interesting; I don’t avoid fights. Every good fighter, including M. Jasiūnas and M. Narauskas, is very interesting. Honestly, I never think about who I would like to fight or who I should face. I fight with every fighter and never choose who to fight against. The same was true in my last fight; even though I knew it was a very strong opponent, there were no doubts because to reach great heights, you have to fight everyone,” said R. Avlasevičius.
Despite not having won any titles in professional sports yet, R. Avlasevičius said he would like to win the championship belt of the relatively young UTMA organization, but this does not affect his performances in the ring.
“I have had many fights but don’t have a single belt. It’s a fact that having a belt motivates me, but does it affect my performance in the fight? No. I prepare for each fight as best as I can, and the experience from fights is more important. It’s about experience because with experience, I can go further. This is my current stop, and the future will show,” said R. Avlasevičius.
R. Avlasevičius was also asked why it took time for him and the “Sparta Gym” members to move from the KOK organization to UTMA.
“I don’t even know if I can call it a long period. We received an offer, considered it, had our expectations, and now we’ve made the decision to join UTMA. However, you can never know what the future holds,” said R. Avlasevičius.
The UTMA organization’s next tournament will be held at the Kaunas “Žalgirio” arena on September 28, and the tenth UTMA tournament is scheduled for November 8 at the Kaunas Sports Hall.
