HEEL TURN
Alexander Volkov embracing ‘heel role’ for UFC London clash with Tom Aspinall after difficultly entering UK from Russia
ALEXANDER VOLKOV is more than happy to play the role of panto villain ahead of his London showdown with Brit Tom Aspinall.
The Russian has been handed the task of testing the Wigan warrior's mettle against the heavyweight division's elite tomorrow night in front of a sold-out crowd at The O2 Arena.
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And the 33-year-old plans to embrace the hostile atmosphere the die-hard Brits will whip up four years after being cheered on by them for his main event clash with Fabricio Werdum.
He told SunSport during the UFC London media day: "There is always face and heel in this business and right now I am the heel.
"But I'm happy with it because if the fight has attention, a story, power behind it, I'm very happy.
"And it's always great when fans are very interested in the fight.
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"They want to see me losing, they want to see him winning. That's always good for business. I'm happy with it."
Volkov's participation in UFC London's showpiece bout was in major doubt late last month when Home Secretary Priti Patel announced a crackdown on Russian athletes competing in the country following Vladimir Putin's illegal invasion of Ukraine.
The promotion, however, managed to secure entry to the UK for the 6'7 giant, who admits he thought he might not be able to headline the UFCs first European show since the pandemic.
He said: “It was a concern for me, too.
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“We were afraid we wouldn’t be able to pass Russian customs [or] any other customs because as normal people we have no idea what’s happening to the customs. Everyday comes new laws and stuff.
“The only difference for me right now was that I flew almost for a day.
"Before it was four hours [to travel to London]. Usually, I would be here in four hours but I spent in the flight the same time that I would go to the U.S. and back."
The uncertainty weighed heavy on Volkov as he prepared for his first outing of 2022.
He said: “The preparation for the fight is always hard even without all of this.
"The only way I was able to prepare was I turned off my social media networks and everything. I stopped reading any news. It was the only way for me to prepare.
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“Otherwise, I wouldn’t be able to prepare or do anything on training.
"So it’s very hard but being professional and to exclude yourself from all the informational fields is the only way to prepare for the fight.”
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