This time, we’re sitting down with none other than Daniil Vesnenok, or Danik—a name that many will recognize. He’s a legend in the Latvian MMA world who’s currently traded in his gloves to bring the heat as one of the masterminds behind BAZARA 0 Fight Club’s explosive debut. If you want to see him in action, here’s Danik’s full TOP DOG fight against Danila “Master” Utenkov:
But that’s not all—when he’s not orchestrating fighters, you’ll catch him at Lucky Punch Gamble, Latvia’s #1 gambling media sensation. From knockout king to a high-stakes kingpin, Danik is redefining what it means to hustle, both in and out of the cage.
So, about the BAZARA 0 Fight Club event. You’re not fighting yourself—because you’re busy organizing?
No, I don’t plan to. For multiple reasons. Because I do organize it, and because I don’t train enough. I used to be a professional athlete. I’ve been sick and still gone to my fights, but back then, I needed to. Now, if I had to go in, I’d like to properly prepare.
And how do you feel about the fight night? Less than two weeks to go!
Oh, the event itself, I’m feeling real positive. This gave me good motivation to get everything in check. I was depressed for a long time before this and didn’t really want to do anything. Lately, it hadn’t been as bad, but I still didn’t have a specific life goal, nothing to aim for. Now that this opportunity came up, it really motivated me to work hard. I realize how big of a thing this is going to be. It’s not just some party—it really is all of Latvia. All the young people, everyone is talking about it and will talk about it for years to come.
This is very important for the Latvian youth scene as a whole. Glad that people are interested and starting to pay serious attention to combat sports.
Let’s see where this goes. For now, it’s one event. To organize something like this, you need a lot of support, a lot of money. It would be interesting to reach a professional level, host bigger tournaments. I’m not saying I want to manage them; I don’t want to be a manager. [laughs] But at some point in my life I would like to try to have my own fighters, a team who trains for it, to try to get them to the UFC, keep them on the right track, help them get to the big leagues. I know how to do it; you just need good people. And again—it just takes resources.
You’ve said in the past that you generally want to do charity and give to others in need. If you had this opportunity in the future, would you like to sponsor “smaller” fighters and give them a fighting chance?
Smaller, but the most talented ones. And right here in Latvia, too. Guys who need a chance. There are men and boys who want to, and who can. It’s sort of a lottery, too, with many nuances—you can always fail, but you can also meet a guy who just knocks everyone out, learns within a week what someone else learns in a year, and has all the physical gifts to go with it. My future goals are big, yeah.
You’re not training at the moment and are more or less inactive in the fighting game. Is there a plan—and desire—to return in the near future?
Certainly not at the moment. Inside, though, there’s that athlete’s ego. I’ve been an athlete with big goals and equally big opportunities. I wanted to be a UFC star myself, and was one of the biggest MMA figures in Latvia. Everybody was talking about it. But to get to the UFC, I would have to train for at least five, six years; just train and do nothing else. Unfortunately, I’m not ready to dedicate five years to that. It’s a very specific lifestyle. You have to live in the gym. Intensive training, a minimum of four hours a day. Then another two hours of recovery. I just don’t have time for that.
You know our Latvian and Lithuanian BAZARA 0 Fight Club members. Who is your favorite so far?
From Latvia, definitely my friend and brother Deniss Stepanovs. He can’t be called a professional fighter, but he has dedicated several years to the sport. I will worry about him a lot. My friend Ričards Kapcionoks will also fight—nobody really knows him, he’s not as popular, only those with whom he used to spar in Vangaži know him. He has a lot of potential. Now he’s going out in the cage to get people to notice him, because he has good prospects in MMA.
The more exposure, the better. As you said before, this is a good opportunity for people with potential who just need to be seen, need that chance. What about the Lithuanians?
I don’t know the Lithuanian team that well, but I know Dominykas Dirkstys, so I’ll stay with that. He is young. At that age, to achieve what he has achieved, he has an insane amount of attention. Yes, he also has an insane amount of hate, but he takes it very well. He doesn’t really care. He doesn’t try to sell anybody anything.
If the event is as successful as hoped, what’s the next step?
To relax. [laughs] If everything works out, the next step will be explaining to all the sponsors that we need twice the funding—maybe even more—to do something even bigger. I’ll be at a disadvantage with this one myself, because I don’t sell tickets or anything, but we need our sponsors to understand how massive this whole thing can be. I have contacts with former and current UFC fighters and I can invite them to fight, but it has to come with money. I could organize fight shows like Latvia has never seen, on a whole new level.
How do you feel about your friends fighting in general?
I’m worried. Very worried. I have this, you know, paranoia—I am organizing a tournament where many of the people competing are friends of mine. If they win, they can have excellent growth. But if they lose, I’ll blame myself. I guess you can’t think that way, but I can’t help worrying. The sense of responsibility is there.
As for Deniss, he has never trained professionally; he’s just been in combat sports for several years. He has fought on the streets a lot. Very, very much. As a kid, as a teenager. That’s partly his strength—Deniss is used to these street fights, so this will be another chance to “get it on”. If he lands a hit, a man can fall. And that’s good. There are guys who fight well and punch great too, but the opponent stays standing. If Deniss lands that hit… yeah, they fall like dominoes.
Deniss got that street credit, huh?
Absolutely. Absolutely.
Is there anything you want to say to all the viewers and fans?
I would like to tell everyone to tune in to the hottest, most fiery, dopamine and adrenaline-filled stream at slotsfighter.com, because Latvia has never seen an event it’s about to. Real dog fights, where guys come and scrap, no playing around. I’ve gone to fights like these and people loved them. I want to give more to the public. It’s going to be a blast!
Remember the date—BAZARA 0 Fight Club takes over on August 22nd. We will be streaming the event for free!
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