On June 4, at the UFC Fight Night 207 tournament in Las Vegas, Russian viewers will have someone to cheer for. In the main fight of the evening, Alexander “Drago” Volkov will enter the octagon. This fight may be the last chance for the Russian fighter to cling to a title fight.

Alexander gradually prepared for the confrontation with Jairzinho Rozenstruik and was determined to win, but all the plans of our fighter went to waste.

The unsportsmanlike decision of the Americans greatly reduced the chances of Drago’s final success.

“I also have something to surprise him with”

Russian mixed martial artist Alexander Volkov (34-10) has been in the UFC since 2016. During this time, he spent 12 fights in the promotion. Lately, things have not been going well for Drago. He lost two out of three fights, significantly moving himself away from the fight for the championship title.

The Russian had his last fight in the promotion quite recently. In March, he lost by submission to Englishman Tom Aspinall in the first round. But after this offensive defeat, Volkov did not take a long break. A little more than a month has passed, and Alexander has already accepted a new challenge.

Photo: © Kieran Cleeves – PA Images / Contributor / PA Images / Gettyimages.com

This time around, Drago was matched against dangerous puncher Jairzinho Rozenstruik (12-3). The Surinamese fighter is a typical puncher. He finished most of the victorious fights ahead of schedule, sending opponents to the canvas with powerful blows.

Despite the tight deadlines, Alexander and his staff managed to develop a training plan, taking into account the mistakes of preparing for the previous fight, and began to systematically prepare.

— I thought about my professional growth. My last fight pushed me to change. This time I did not prepare in Moscow. I went to the Olympic sports base at an altitude of 1400 meters above sea level, where I trained with new sparring partners and coaches, the athlete said about preparing for the confrontation with the Surinamese in an interview with Sherdog.

Volkov also shared his plans for the upcoming fight with Jairzinho Rozenstruik.

“My job will be to put on a good fight while staying focused and ready for any of his attacks, from start to finish. I can say that I also have something to surprise him with. I am focused on my own development. I like to train, and as long as there is an opportunity, I am ready to perform, – Alexander shared his thoughts about the fight with Rozenstruik.

Alexander Volkov / Photo: © Christian Petersen / Zuffa LLC / Contributor / UFC / Gettyimages.ru

Will there be no one to help?

Volkov was going to come to Las Vegas with his team, which was supposed to help him in the corner during the fight. But these plans are not destined to come true. This was prevented by bureaucratic problems, which have recently been regularly arranged for Russian athletes by employees of the American embassy. According to information from sources close to the fighter, officials simply did not issue visas to the members of the coaching staff to visit the United States.

As a result, Alexander will go to the tournament without his team. Fortunately, Volkov managed to find local specialists who will help the fighter in the upcoming fight. But this is not even close to the help that Drago would have received from his true team.

Similar cases with Russian athletes, American diplomats, apparently, decided to put on stream. Most recently, they took away support in the corner of another Russian fighter, Petr Yan, in a fight with Aljamain Sterling. Representatives of his team also did not receive visas. We all remember how this fight ended for Jan.

It remains to be hoped that Volkov will be able to defeat Jairzinho Rozenstruik, despite interference from the host and frank attempts to reduce his chances of winning.