“There are not many places where athletes can raise the Russian flag” – UFC fighter Volkov about entering the fight with the tricolor

Russian heavyweight Alexander Volkov explained to why he decided to go out with the Russian flag to fight against Sergei Pavlovich at the UFC tournament in Saudi Arabia.

Volkov, who is in fifth place in the UFC heavy division rankings, defeated another fighter Pavlovich in the main event of the UFC tournament in Riyadh. For Volkov, the victory was the fourth in a row and could make him a potential UFC title contender. At the tournament in Saudi Arabia, Volkov became the only Russian fighter to fight with the Russian tricolor.

— You were the only fighter in the tournament to enter the fight with the Russian flag. It’s surprising that you have to ask this question, but tell me why?

— Today, different situations are occurring in the world, regarding the same IOC, which banned Russian athletes from competing. And I think now, for Russian fans, for those who worry about our athletes, this is important. I understand that there are not many places where top athletes could raise the Russian flag. Since the UFC is an international organization and they endorse it, and even support it to some extent, I decided to take advantage of it. I’m surprised more haven’t done this. It seems like such an opportunity exists, and now there seems to be a need for people.

Now some accuse our fighters of not having taken out the flag before, but before this was not necessary. We had the Olympics, there were international competitions, and in that context, the fighters really looked like athletes competing in some kind of commercial organization for money. And now I understand how important it is to the fans. And I decided to support them. And please your parents too. They were really happy about it,” Volkov told .

Watch live broadcasts of UFC tournaments on and Match! Fighter”, as well as on the sites matchtv.ru and sportbox.ru.

Open a video

More sports news in our telegram channel .