Russian mixed martial artist Viacheslav Datsik is set to make his return to the MMA arena against experienced heavyweight Geronimo dos Santos on March 25, 2023.
This is a part of Ural FC 2 card.
Datsik, also known as ‘Redheaded Tarzan’, is infamous for his questionable radical beliefs.
He has been diagnosed with schizophrenia and spent time in a high-security mental institution. His activities outside of MMA have garnered more notoriety than his achievements in the sport.
The self-proclaimed racist famously escaped from a mental institution and traveled to Norway to seek political asylum.
He was arrested, along with a small group, for their radical beliefs and spent time in prison while Russia attempted to extradite him. After being deported from Norway in 2011, Datsik spent five more years in custody before being released in 2016.
After his release, Datsik shifted his focus to professional boxing and amassed a 5-3 record. In his last boxing match, he defeated Alexander Emelianenko, the younger brother of former PRIDE heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko.
In his MMA career, Datsik had a rough patch with six consecutive losses. However, he has had a couple of better outings since his release, and he aims to continue in the same vein.
Datsik’s most significant achievement in his MMA career was arguably his debut knockout of future UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski at M-1 MFC in 1999.
Geronimo dos Santos caught the attention of former UFC bantamweight and flyweight champion Henry Cejudo when he opted to yell his heart out during the first face offs.
Henry Cejudo expressed his interest in meeting dos Santos after the face-off. The former UFC champion wrote on Twitter, “This is great love the cringe! I want to meet this dude.”
The second face offs were no different and once again featured the two in a shouting match. Datsik wore a Midsommar like bear costume while Dos Santos had a Brazilian flag painted on his face.