MMA Fighter Details Pro-Russia Documentary About Ukraine

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Longtime MMA fighter Jeff Monson appears to have stayed busy since announcing his retirement from combat sports last month.
The 51-year-old has apparently been hard at work putting together a documentary focusing on Ukraine’s Donbas region. Monson detailed the project in a recent interview with RIA Novosti that was posted on Telegram (h/t Bloody Elbow).
“The film is called ‘Eight Years Before.’ It’s actually going to be finished at the end of the month,” Monson said in the video. “We’ve finished filming, we’re doing the editing, it’s almost finished, it’s two weeks away from being completely finished. The whole object of this film is to show people – the whole world forgot about the people of Donbas. Everybody six months ago was saying, ‘Oh, Russia’s so bad, Russia’s invading Ukraine.’ No, Russia came to save the people of Donbas. And people are like, ‘Where’s Donbas, where’s Donetsk?’ Nobody in the world, expect perhaps Russia, understood what was happening.”
Donbas is located in Eastern Ukraine, and the region’s cities of Donetsk and Luhansk are currently controlled by pro-Russian separatist groups amidst the ongoing conflict between the two countries.
Latest Pro-Russia Move By Monson
Although Monson’s involvement may be less direct, he’s far from the only combat sports athlete to become willingly engaged in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
Several athletes have lost their lives during the fighting, while current Bellator welterweight champion Yaroslav Amosov has actively documented his own experiences defending his home country.
This documentary is not the first time that Monson has openly expressed his support for Russian interests. The 51-year-old was granted Russian citizenship in 2018 and has displayed his “Russian Soul” in previous videos on Russian media outlets.
Monson lost a unanimous decision in his last bout in August. (Twitter)
“The Snowman” was an early pioneer of the sport who competed in his first MMA bout in 1997. A pro career of nearly 90 official fights saw him fight all across the world for promotions such as M-1, Road FC, PRIDE, Cage Warriors, Strikeforce, and the UFC.
Monson challenged Tim Sylvia for the UFC’s heavyweight belt in 2006 at UFC 65, losing a unanimous decision. Although he fought a Russian Neo-Nazi earlier this year before announcing his retirement, the last MMA bout listed on his official record per Tapology was a Draw against Nikolai Savilov in 2016 at Arta MMA: Battle for Ryazan.
Want to suggest a correction or provide other feedback? Contact the editor at [email protected]!

Longtime MMA fighter Jeff Monson appears to have stayed busy since announcing his retirement from combat sports last month.


The 51-year-old has apparently been hard at work putting together a documentary focusing on Ukraine’s Donbas region. Monson detailed the project in a recent interview with RIA Novosti that was posted on Telegram (h/t Bloody Elbow).


“The film is called ‘Eight Years Before.’ It’s actually going to be finished at the end of the month,” Monson said in the video. “We’ve finished filming, we’re doing the editing, it’s almost finished, it’s two weeks away from being completely finished. The whole object of this film is to show people – the whole world forgot about the people of Donbas. Everybody six months ago was saying, ‘Oh, Russia’s so bad, Russia’s invading Ukraine.’ No, Russia came to save the people of Donbas. And people are like, ‘Where’s Donbas, where’s Donetsk?’ Nobody in the world, expect perhaps Russia, understood what was happening.”


Donbas is located in Eastern Ukraine, and the region’s cities of Donetsk and Luhansk are currently controlled by pro-Russian separatist groups amidst the ongoing conflict between the two countries.


Latest Pro-Russia Move By Monson
Although Monson’s involvement may be less direct, he’s far from the only combat sports athlete to become willingly engaged in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.


Several athletes have lost their lives during the fighting, while current Bellator welterweight champion Yaroslav Amosov has actively documented his own experiences defending his home country.


This documentary is not the first time that Monson has openly expressed his support for Russian interests. The 51-year-old was granted Russian citizenship in 2018 and has displayed his “Russian Soul” in previous videos on Russian media outlets.


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Monson lost a unanimous decision in his last bout in August. (Twitter)
“The Snowman” was an early pioneer of the sport who competed in his first MMA bout in 1997. A pro career of nearly 90 official fights saw him fight all across the world for promotions such as M-1, Road FC, PRIDE, Cage Warriors, Strikeforce, and the UFC.


Monson challenged Tim Sylvia for the UFC’s heavyweight belt in 2006 at UFC 65, losing a unanimous decision. Although he fought a Russian Neo-Nazi earlier this year before announcing his retirement, the last MMA bout listed on his official record per Tapology was a Draw against Nikolai Savilov in 2016 at Arta MMA: Battle for Ryazan.


Want to suggest a correction or provide other feedback? Contact the editor at [email protected]!




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