“Tuivasa suggested we meet, but we didn’t exchange contact details.” How Volkov celebrates his victory in Australia

Russian heavyweight at UFC in Sydney Alexander Volkov won his 15th fight (Volkov’s overall UFC stats are 11 wins, 4 losses) in the American promotion. It turned out to be very significant – the local fighter Tai Tuivasa received many blows from Volkov, but managed to resist everything – and Volkov began to apply painful locks. I tried the guillotine, the hand triangle and ended up strangling Ezekiel – a very beautiful thing when the fist presses on the opponent’s throat, cutting off oxygen and causing very strong pain in the area of Adam’s apple. Volkov now has three first wins and wants to fight for the belt. The saddest thing is that at the top of the heavyweight rankings, everything is very confusing.

Open a video

In an interview with , Volkov spoke about how he learned about Ezekiel’s move from Oleinik, the Australian public’s reaction to the outcome of the fight and who he saw as his next opponent.

– Oleg Taktarov told me that he has no doubts about your victory, and Alexey Oleinik says that he is happy, because they continue to suffocate him with techniques. Is it nice to support these people who fought in the UFC before you?

“I try not to forget anyone, as they say. » Of course, I’m happy. It’s good when people like that support you. I understand that this is also my fan base, that is, people who think, don’t just chase the hype of the fights. I’m happy to please these people, I think they look at fighting in a broader way, not just as a spectacle.

— Did Alexey Oleinik really teach you this technique?

– Yes of course. It was a long time ago, about 12 years ago. We trained together in Moscow for a while. He showed me this technique, and now, when I did it, I immediately remembered all the elements: so, it’s here, it’s here. And when Tuivasa was caught, I felt that he was trying to get out, but I realized that I had caught him well and that I had to hold him for 10 seconds. This technique does not work immediately, it is not pure suffocation, it is an element of influence in combat. And I knew I had to wait a bit.

— How often did you get it in training?

— It happened, but mostly with guys who didn’t expect it. This works well with those who are not ready. Tuivasa was ready for anything because I tried to do a triangle with my arms, he slipped, then I tried a guillotine. I prepared these techniques, but it was clear that he was also doing the work in the camp. Additionally, he is quite strong, slippery, his neck and shoulders are strong, it was difficult to learn these techniques and he was not ready for Ezekiel. For some reason, people don’t feel danger if you put your hand under their head, and Tuivasa doesn’t feel it either.

— Does this technique have a point of no return, where we can no longer leave?

— Alexey could explain this better, but how I feel: if you put your opponent’s hand under his head, take his hand with this hand and he opens his neck, then it is practically a “point of no return” . All that remains is to put your fist on your neck and use force.

— You sat on it, in a mounting position. To what extent was going to reception meaningful or, on the contrary, automatic?

“His head turned out to be too strong for me, or I wasn’t able to completely complete the combinations, so I was looking for opportunities to choke. And on the ground, as I finished, I felt like I was losing more strength than I had the chance to knock him out. I didn’t want to let him leave this round, because in the previous one I had almost knocked him out, but then the gong saved Ty. And then I already tried to do a reception. In general, it was a completely conscious decision.

— Did he do any damage with low kicks?

– Yes, it’s normal, I missed a few shots in the legs, but they were not so important that I couldn’t continue because of that. This fight reminded me of our fight with Alexey Kudin, which took place in 2015. Maybe he was less dynamic, but when preparing for Tuivasa, I relied on the experience I gained in the fight with Alexey, because he often threw low blows and badly broke my leg. But then I felt that Tuivasa himself was taking damage from the blows and that’s why I didn’t remove my leg and tried to grab and move him. I achieved this both in preparation and several times in the fight, when in response to his low blow I hit him in the head and rolled over, I simply could not hold him.

– Did he hit his head?

– Only blows on the legs. Maybe I accidentally hit him with a left side kick, but it just felt like a blow. I wasn’t shaken or anything.

— How did the crowd react after the fight – did anyone hand out a sneaker (Tuivasa often celebrates victories by drinking from a sneaker)?

– No. I was hoping someone would hand me a glass of beer, but they didn’t either. They reached out to us, congratulated us, everything was as usual. The audience here is very unique and passionate about MMA. The tournament started around eight a.m. on Sunday, and by that time the arena was already full and half the people were drunk.

—It’s about five o’clock in the evening now. If Tai Tuivasa offers to sit somewhere, will you accept?

– And he already proposed, we met in the locker room, talked, and he said we could meet. But we forgot to exchange contacts, and I’m not sure whether we’ll be able to catch up with him or not, because he’s not at the hotel, but hanging out somewhere else. On the other hand, I have to wash, get ready and leave the hotel at six in the morning. If we could see him somewhere nearby, then we could have a glass of juice. And it’s unlikely that I will be able to go anywhere.

— There are now three people above you in the rankings that you lost to: Tom Aspinall, Cyril Gun and Curtis Blaydes. Your comrade is Sergei Pavlovich. And the participants in the fight for the title: Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic. Who do you see as your next opponent?

– Difficult. I don’t know. Any of these fights could be relevant. I understand that many, especially Russian fans, will perceive this as “well, what’s wrong with him”, but I would like to fight for the belt. I have a streak of three early victories, I have my 15th fight in the UFC, now I will take sixth or fifth place in the rankings. At the same time, I understand that the guys are waiting, that Sergei Pavlovich has been waiting for a long time, Aspinall returned, but Gan already had a chance, Aspinall won and lost in his last fights. Maybe they’ll fight each other, and I’ll fight Miocic or Jon Jones somewhere. Although I understand that it is difficult to do this now. On the other hand, I would take any fight with any of the guys who are higher than me in the rankings.

– If you choose between Gan and Aspinall…

“I think Aspinall would be a more logical option for me.” The fight didn’t go very well and I could have done better with him. But in general, both fights would be the same for me in terms of support, approach to the belt and difficulty. Who would it be easier with? Yes, it would be bad with everyone, I don’t deny losing to them, they would be tough fights. I am ready to take on any challenge.

— Do you want to fight again in 2023?

– Rather yes than no. I would be comfortable fighting in January-February, but I can also fight in December. It depends on where it will be. I want to take a few weeks off, but then I can come back and play without any problem.

— Did you manage to buy anything for the kids or should you go now?

— There were no special orders, I was at the zoo, I bought toys, I didn’t find anything different from America, but I bought local animals.

— Did you buy a kangaroo?

– Kangaroo and koala, yes.

“That’s what I wanted to know.”

***

Live broadcasts of mixed martial arts tournaments can be seen on and Match! Fighter”, as well as on the sites matchtv.ru and sportbox.ru.