After starting his career a perfect 16-0, UFC heavyweight Alexandr Romanov suffered his first defeat in his last outing.
Dropping a majority decision to Poland’s Marcin Tyrbura, Romanov (16-1) now looks to rebound against the towering Alexander Volkov at UFC Las Vegas on Saturday.
“I think a lot of fighters will agree with me, no matter if it’s your first loss, second loss, fifth loss, they’re always bitter,” Romanov said of his first defeat, speaking during this week’s UFC Las Vegas media day. “Nobody likes to lose. But I really think that even one loss can really teach you a whole lot about your career more than the wins.”
With that in mind perhaps, Romanov has been working on his striking — something he feels everyone, quite literally, has been underestimating.
“It seems as though the entire world is underestimating my striking. Obviously his base is stand-up, his base is boxing. My base is wrestling, so the entire world just like you thinks that I’m going to take him down, I’m going to have my way with him on the ground,” stated Romanov. “And yeah, obviously that is in the plans but the thing is, we’re completely improved in our stand-up. We’re ready for the fight. If the fight’s going be left standing up, then we’re going to keep throwing standing up.”
“I think you’re going to be very surprised with the preparation me and my team have done in the actual stand-up department. So listen, if we’re going to stand there and trade for the whole three rounds, we’re definitely ready for it.”
“What I think you need to know is the fight is definitely not going to last three rounds,” the Moldovan finished.
Watch the full UFC Las Vegas media day appearance by Alexander Romanov above. The event takes place at The Theater at Virgin Hotels on Saturday, March 11, 2023.
