LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Alexander Volkov[/autotag] is pleased with his victory, even if it took a little longer than he expected.
At UFC Fight Night 221, Volkov (36-10 MMA, 10-4 UFC) finished opponent Alexandr Romanov (16-2 MMA, 5-2 UFC) with punches 2:16 into Round 1. Even though 136 seconds inside the cage wouldn’t seem very long in the eyes of many, Volkov told reporters including MMA Junkie after the bout he expected the fight to be quicker.
“You always feel good after the victory, so I feel great that I won,” Volkov said through an interpreter at the post-fight news conference. “Really what I’d like to say is everything that we’ve worked on in the camp. Everything we’ve put so much time into, I really feel that it’s great that it happened the way that it happened. Exactly what we expected him to do, he did in the fight. This is what we worked on.
“So I feel like it wasn’t as fast as we thought it was going to be, but everything we expected did happen, which is why the fight happened the way that it did.”
[lawrence-related id=2624603,2623370]
Volkov, 34, has faced top-ranked divisional talent since his entry into the promotion in late 2016. For his next bout, he’s interested in running it back with past opponent [autotag]Ciryl Gane[/autotag] (10-2 MMA, 7-2 UFC), who defeated him via unanimous decision in June 2021.
“Really, I’d like to possibly revenge somebody that I’ve lost to,” Volkov said. “Maybe, for instance, my rematch with Gane would be interesting.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 221.