Prior to his career in mixed martial arts, Romanov was a confident member of the Moldovan freestyle wrestling team and competed in international tournaments. Then there was an injury, an “accidental” blow in MMA and 11 won fights before signing a contract with the UFC. It is very easy to start rooting Alexander:
Today, Romanov is 13th in the heavyweight rankings and one of the best fighters in the world in terms of the number of wins without any losses. His next opponent, Marcin Tybura (22-7), has come through much more serious opposition and has only lost to Alexander Volkov in six fights since 2022.
– Tybura considers Brazilian jiu-jitsu strong. Did you train separately in defensive grappling, when the main task becomes not to get caught on the reception?
– In principle, we have completely different styles with Marcin: he prefers to lie on the ground. I have more types of takedowns in my arsenal, range throws. I think it will be interesting in the octagon.
Receptions? Well, let him try. Seriously, we worked very hard on offensive and defensive movements. If there is a tough fight at the net or on the ground, we are very well prepared.
– Is it difficult to find a grappling sparring partner if you weigh 110-115 kg?
– Yes, adequate sparring partners are a big deal for the heavyweight division. Heavy and so little in the world. And there are even fewer good guys who would fight well and move clearly on the pitch. But I had very good sparring partners in this camp.
“And who exactly?”
– In this camp, Batradz Gazzaev, a prominent Ossetian freestyle wrestler, helped me for 2.5 months. And when he arrived in Thailand, Anatoly Malykhin, the One Championship champion, joined us. He has a very good training in freestyle wrestling. And in the stalls, they moved well with him, both standing and in the cage. And the technical staff did a great job for us, they did a lot of interesting things.
“Why did you go to Thailand to prepare Tybura?”
– The coach told me a long time ago – he often went there with his students to train in Thai boxing. We figured it out, weighed the pros and cons, realized there were some good heavyweights out there, and had a good heavyweight camp.
– In your last fight, you threw an opponent with a deflection, which is not often seen at heavyweight. Did you see this moment again?
– No more often than it appeared to me in the tape
– Have you often been caught?
– And I met him often, yes, ha ha ha… He was taken up in many highlights. But, in my opinion, the throw went really well, maybe I didn’t do it a bit there, but overall I’m happy with it.
– You throw like that in sparring?
– If I know that my training partner is a basic wrestler, knows how to fall correctly, in a group, of course, we do such throws. And if I understand that a person is more like a drummer, then I already try not to, because it can really lead to injuries, you can even disconnect from such a throw.
– If they organized a UFC freestyle wrestling championship, who do you think would become your main competitor?
– Seems like Curtis Blades after all, because he has a good background in wrestling based on American colleges. Maybe Tom Aspinal. It interestingly feels the position both in the body and on the legs. Serega Spivak has some good wrestling skills, but there’s no one else to point out.
When was the last time you wore pantyhose?
– I think last year. I try to continue to train, I participate in the national championship whenever possible. I am not giving up the fight.
– A few questions as an expert – who can beat Abdulrashid Sadulaev now?
– There are young guys, but in principle the same Kyle Snyder, perhaps. He is in very good shape now. Sadulaev did not compete for a very long time, while Snyder, on the contrary, performs at all starts and destroys all his rivals. I would see this fight again.
– That is, you do not think that they have a noisy duel, but in fact everything is already clear there. Do you think they still have competition?
– 100%. They are very strong guys who can adapt to the opponent during the fight, and they have very serious wrestling IQ. Now, for example, I don’t see who at 97kg can beat Snyder, given that the national teams of Russia and Belarus are still suspended from the world championships.
– Who impressed you the most in Greco-Roman wrestling, considering that the first three Olympics were won by Alexander Karelin, then four by Mikhail Lopez.
– From a technical point of view, San Sanych was still a much more developed athlete. And Lopez – he adapted well to the current rules. He is rather standing, pushing. He waits for the opponent to receive a passive, he will be knocked down, he will roll. My opinion is that Karelin is still number 1 among Greco-Roman heavyweights.
– How would you see them fighting at their best for everyone?
– As practice has shown, San Sanych worked well with the pushers, he changed the angles of attack well, hit them well. It would have been a good fight, but Karelin would have had the upper hand.
– Your fight with Juan Espino in 2021 ended after he punched you in the groin. In an interview after the fight, you very painfully described the aftermath of that blow and the procedures you did in the hospital. Is there any discomfort today?
– If you overtrain or, for example, take large weights in a squat, some discomfort appears. But doctors say there’s nothing serious there, so you can safely continue to plow.
– You are 16-0 in your career, 5-0 in the UFC, and you are ranked 13th in the standings. Sergei Pavlovich (16-1 in MMA, 5-1 in UFC) recently beat Derrick Lewis to finish 5th. Does it intrigue you when a fighter is suddenly placed so much higher than you?
– In principle, I don’t care, I don’t pay much attention to it. I don’t think anyone fully understands how this system works. My task is to go out, show great fights and try to get the title as soon as possible, get the belt and bring it to my country.
– There are now five Russian-speaking fighters in the top 15: you, Sergey Spivak, Shamil Abdurahimov, Alexander Volkov and Sergey Pavlovich. Will you try to avoid fighting them?
– I wouldn’t want to cross paths with Sergei Spivak, after all, we’re from the same country. And in general, I somehow wouldn’t want to cut myself with mine. Still, there are enough guys you can fight with.
– Who do you think, after Ngannou, who can become the next UFC champion?
– It seems to me that if Jon Jones returns, then he has every chance.
Source : MatchTV
I am Sandra Jackson, a journalist and content creator with extensive experience in the news industry. I have been working in the news media for over five years. During this time, I have worked as an author and editor at various outlets producing high-quality content that attracts readers from different demographics.
