UFC heavyweight Alexander Romanov shared how he returned to fighting after a serious injury

Moldovan UFC fighter Alexander Romanov in an interview with , he said that he crushed the knuckle of his index finger during his last fight with Blagoy Ivanov.

Romanov, 33, is ranked 13th in the UFC heavyweight rankings. The athlete interrupted his 15 winning streak with a defeat against Alexander Volkov, then lost to Marcin Tybura, but in July 2023 he defeated Ivanov at a tournament in Las Vegas. Romanov will have his next fight at UFC 302 against Brazilian Gilton Almeida.

— After the operation, I didn’t train at all for two months. In a fight with Ivanov, he crushed the phalanx of his index finger. It was a rather complicated operation, a pin was inserted into me, four knitting needles were in my hand. It was not very comfortable to train in such conditions. That’s why we took a long break. Then it took a long time to restore joint mobility, because the soft connective tissues were affected.

– Now, does your finger look like an ordinary person’s or is it clear that it was operated on?

— The scar is visible, but the hand functions in principle.

— For you, as a wrestler, was it important that you maintained the possibility of achieving quality holds?

“And the grip strength was great, and I couldn’t punch with that hand at all.” There was no mobility of the joint itself; I couldn’t close my fist at all.

— What did the trauma doctor tell you when you showed him your finger for the first time?

— They told me I could return to the gym in 9 to 12 months. I said to them, “Are you crazy or what? As a result, after 11 months I am already returning to the cage,” Romanov told .

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