Abu Dhabi, UAE — Former Bellator MMA heavyweight champion Alexander Volkov got back in the win column at UFC 254. For “Drago,” the second-round TKO victory over Walt Harris keeps him in the title hunt, something he’s been flirting with for the past couple of years.
The 32-year old Russian is a spring chicken compared to a lot of fighters in the aging heavyweight division. And he’s no fan of unfinished business, he explained following the performance on Saturday — whether it’s fighting, or tattoos.
Volkov (32-8) explained that he had work done on his back piece between fights. And while he admits that the process was painful, “I don’t like anything that [isn’t] finished at all. I like that everything is finished,” he said, before noting that he “just wanted to finish everything and go to the camp.”
“This is something about me and my mind and everything,” Volkov added.
You can rest assured that the need for completion applies to fighting as well. “I’m feeling like I’m ready to make a challenge to big names,” explained Volkov. “To challenge for a belt, [go on a] run. I’m here to win and go forward.”
With that in mind, Volkov wants to get back into the cage “as quick as I can,” he said. At the same time, he noted that “I don’t know when a new UFC show will be. Probably it will be in December. I need about two or three months to prepare, to my new camp, and I’m ready for this. I just need the UFC to give me a name with two or three months for my camp. I will be ready. I’ll go back home, and start my camp from the first day. So I’m just waiting for the name. It could be December, or January.”
One claim that came up ahead of the fight was that Harris’ striking was the best in the heavyweight division. It’s a statement “The Big Ticket” made himself. On that front, Volkov admitted that he wanted to go back and watch the fight over. Still, he added, “his striking is probably good, but not so good like my striking.”
Watch the full UFC 254 post-fight press scrum with Alexander Volkov above.
