Nikita Krylov isn’t overlooking the magnitude of Saturday night’s matchup.
Ahead of his UFC 329 clash with former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker, Krylov told reporters that sharing the Octagon with one of his favorite fighters is both an honor and a dream come true. Once the fight begins, however, respect will give way to business as the longtime light heavyweight contender looks to spoil Whittaker’s highly anticipated debut at 205 pounds.
“To be honest I very much am happy about Robert standing in front of me because he’s one of my favorite fighters,” Krylov told reporters including Cageside Press through a translator on Wednesday.
“For me it’ll be a huge honor to share the octagon with such as legend as Robert Whittaker.”
While Krylov respects Whittaker’s accomplishments, that admiration won’t change his approach once the cage door closes. The veteran says his focus is on executing the game plan and doing whatever it takes to leave UFC 329 with the biggest win of his career.
“I can’t say that I’m going to be risking to find a finish or something. We have a specific idea, a specific game plan that we’re hoping to implement in the fight, but a fight against Robert Whittaker like I said this is a dream fight for me,” he said.
“He’s a legend. He’s somebody that I really respect. We’re going to try and find a way to win this quick or a way to find a win, but whatever happens in the fight we’ll see.”
Krylov has plenty of respect for everything Whittaker has accomplished over the course of his UFC career, but he isn’t intimidated by the former champion’s resume. The veteran light heavyweight believes the biggest adjustment he’ll have to make is dealing with Whittaker’s trademark speed.
“He had a legendary career, but I have to say that I also had one too many wars in the octagon as well,” said Krylov.
“I think that the one thing that everyone is talking about is his speed. He’s very much a fast striker in the middleweight division. They’re saying that speed is going to transfer to light heavyweight. I think out of all the aspects that he’s bringing to the octagon I think the one thing I have to watch out is how speedy or how quick he is in his attacks.”
Watch the entire media day scrum with Nikita Krylov above. He faces Robert Whittaker at UFC 329 on Saturday night.
