“He will win simply because he is Russian.” Tuivasa has no chance to resist Volkov
Sergey Sorokin September 9, 2023, 18:00 Moscow time Audio version: Your browser does not support the audio element.
Alexander is ready to take another step towards his first UFC title.
On the night of September 9-10, the most important fight in Alexander Volkov’s career will take place. The Russian scored two early victories and, at 34 years old, is racing towards his first title in the UFC. The rival will be the Australian Tai Tuivasa, who will surely have the support of the local public with all his strength. Volkov looks like the favorite in this matchup, but his opponent is still higher in the heavyweight rankings. But this won’t help Bam-Bam; Alexander is determined to get another knockout.
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Volkov is at the top of his form. The Russian consistently defeated Jairzinho Rozenstruik and Alexander Romanov. It took him less than one round to complete two finishes: 4 minutes and 28 seconds. And most importantly, Drago showed that all the advantages stayed with him.
First of all, Volkov has a lot of mobility for a heavyweight. He is able to wear down his opponent with his speed. But Tuivasa is not known for his resilience; His gas tank can run out very quickly. Secondly, Alexander is universal. He is ready to disrupt his opponents while standing, he can simply score. It is difficult to even imagine how the rather clumsy Tuivasa is going to free himself from the tenacious “embrace” of the Russian.
Brazilian mixed martial arts fighter Renato Moicano shared a very unusual prediction for the fight. He is sure that Volkov will simply not leave his opponent any chance. But the reason for this is very curious.
Renato Moicano
Brazilian UFC fighter
“In my opinion, Alexander will win the fight. Tuivasa is not very strong in wrestling and grappling. I don’t think he takes his career that seriously. I don’t think he’s focused on training. Volkov is more focused on training camp, simply because he is Russian. I think so. Volkov will probably win.”
To be honest, Tuivasa is an unconventional fighter. He’s totally into the Bam-Bam style of it. The clumsy Australian is very dangerous because he is capable of throwing a strong lucky shot. But lately Tai has become increasingly unable to take a hit. First he was knocked out by Cyril Gan, then he could not last a minute under the pressure of Sergei Pavlovich. Tuivasa has no plan B. Initially he goes out with one objective: to fight until one of the opponents collapses to the canvas.
And Tai doesn’t really prepare very seriously for fights. Ilyas Khamzin, who trained with Bam-Bam, told us: “I worked with Tuivasa in Thailand in a camp. He helped him when he fought with Junior dos Santos. He’s not good at training, he just sleeps. He himself says that he only wakes up in battle. From a technical point of view, Volkov will find it easy. But he weighs a lot. Maybe a stroke of luck. “This fight doesn’t have to go to the end.”
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Tuivasa’s only hope heading into this fight is a clean shot. It’s hard to imagine Tai winning any other way. But the experienced Volkov literally dismantled his opponent into atoms. And he perfectly understands what exactly to expect from the clumsy Australian. Therefore, Alexander will go out and calmly deal with Tuivasa. And he will take another important step towards the belt, which is still on Jon Jones’ shoulder. But if the American decides to end his career, events may take the most unexpected turn.
