Alexander Volkov on Fighting in His First UFC Main Event

MMAjunkie recently spoke to UFC heavyweight fighter Alexander Volkov ahead of his upcoming main event bout with Fabricio Werdum. The fight will headline UFC Fight Night 127 in London later this weekend. Below are some highlights.

Volkov on being nervous for his first UFC fight: “My first fight in the UFC, I was really nervous. But now I feel really comfortable. I feel like I’m in my own place, so I will enjoy how the big (the event) is. I’ve been waiting for this all my career.”

Volkov on fighting Werdum: “Really, we’re kind of friends, but both of us have something to prove to everybody For me, Fabricio is the best heavyweight fighter in the UFC. But I can prove something to everybody (by winning), and I’ve come to use this chance. I can say there’s no nastiness in this fight. It’s just business for both of us, and if you win you could be fighting for the belt soon, because he has an impressive win streak, and I do, too.”

Volkov on how training has gone: “For sure, training is different (to fighting). For example, we spar in big gloves, and you’re never going to knock your opponent out, so it’s some kind of work. But the main thing I took was he’s a really smart fighter. He can change tactics in fights, and that’s what I’ve been preparing for.”

Volkov on needing to fight someone higher ranked: “I can’t fight someone who’s outside the top 10, because it won’t help me move up towards the belt. So I have to fight someone who’s ranked higher than me, because I’m young in the UFC and young to start going towards the belt. So this fight had to happen, and that’s why I’m here.”

On hoping to get closer to a title fight: “I don’t want to be like ‘Give me the belt, right now.’ But I hope that this fight will put me much closer to a title fight. Maybe the winner will be fighting for the belt (next). It will be a hard fight for me, for sure. I’m prepared for a hard fight. I’m prepared for a long fight, so my feeling is that I have to do a little bit more than I can in this fight. So if I show it, I will win.”