"Emphasis on mass gain - Alexander's decision": Kiyashko on Volkov's training, his fight with Overeem and his chances for the title

- At UFC Vegas 18, Alexander Volkov knocked out Alistair Overeem.

In your opinion, is this the most important victory in a Russian's career?

- The most important is ahead.

In a professional's career, every success is of great importance, especially considering the level at which Volkov is.

- After the fight, you said that you did not expect to see Overeem in such a state after the first round.

Is it because Volkov was so strong, or did Alistair himself look weaker than usual?

- In fact, the Dutchman is very good.

But the fighter fights exactly as the opponent allows him.

In the first round, Volkov broke Overeem's nose, which subsequently prevented him from showing his maximum.

This does not mean that the opponent has become worse.

But that evening Alexander was stronger, faster and deservedly won.

Alistair deserves only respect.

As far as I know, he does not plan to end his career after this fight, he intends to continue performing.

This is not surprising considering how great he has looked in previous battles.

I still think that the judge made a mistake by stopping his fight with Jairzinho Rosenstriik.

- Many drew attention to the fact that Alexander looked massive.

How did you achieve this?

- Thanks to regular training, discipline, and also to Vasily Vasilyevich Volkov, who oversees Strela Team in this matter.

Alexander set himself the task of becoming stronger and bigger, while not losing any condition or speed.

- That is, he expressed a desire to add muscle mass after the fight with Curtis Blades?

- Not.

Even before that battle, Volkov was actively engaged with iron.

In addition, you yourself know how Alexander prepared for the fight with Curtis.

Then he trained at home, and we lacked certain things to make the camp fruitful.

We were in quarantine.

- Then Volkov admitted that he trained with clubs, and also practiced on the horizontal bar.

Is it really so?

- Yes.

Then there was no way to bring a rack with a bar into the apartment, no one knew how long the quarantine would last.

Naturally, if there was an opportunity at least to go to the gym and work with iron, the result would be different.

Strength is a metric that does not tolerate downtime.

If you do not pay attention to strength training for one to two weeks, then regression will follow.

Do not have the illusion that you can pump up once and then do nothing.

- You say that it was not possible to bring a rack with a barbell into the apartment.

Why?

For example, the director of the MMA department at UFC Gym Russia Shamil Suleimanov expressed the opinion that a fighter should not find himself in a situation where he has nothing to do ...

- Firstly, we didn’t think it would take so long.

Secondly, living conditions do not always allow placing such equipment in an apartment.

Especially when it comes to serious scales.

Alexander deals with just such, so an equipped room is needed.

- How have Volkov's training and nutrition changed since the moment he decided to focus on strength loads?

- Alexander strictly followed the recommendations: protein, the right food.

In this matter, regular training and strict adherence to the diet are very important.

Natural weight as easily rises, it also leaves.

- Does Alexander's body tend to quickly gain muscle mass?

After all, not all people have this process simply ...

- Everything goes gradually for him.

Very quickly muscle mass is gained by those who "chemo" or are at the initial stage of training.

Beginners progress very quickly at the start, but then the process slows down.

Volkov has been actively working on this for several years, gradually increasing the indicators.

This is not to say that all this happened overnight.

- How many Volkov are now squeezing from the chest and with what weight do they squat?

- Alexander presses 140 kg on his chest.

Raises a barbell with a weight of 80 kg for biceps.

Volkov also does deadlifts, and instead of squats, he performs lunges.

The first exercise is 190 kg, the second is 70 kg.

- In terms of the relationship between physics and technology, is the current version of Volkov the best in your entire career?

- Alexander is definitely in one of the best forms.

Now he has gained weight, but most importantly, he is comfortable in him.

He remained hardy and fast, and his strength indicators only increased.

But there is still something to strive for.

- In your opinion, in his current form, Volkov would feel much more confident in a battle with Blades?

- Certainly.

Even considering that the battle was preceded by the so-called home camp, Volkov approached him in good shape.

Unlike Blades, who "died" during the fight, Sasha breathed well.

Perhaps, if he had begun to show activity a little earlier, he would have calmly won the victory.

There were fears that they would not have enough stamina, which later turned out to be false.

Perhaps we, as coaches, did not have time to advise him to take action in time.

Perhaps he himself was too careful and decided not to force the course of the battle, because he doubted his condition.

Had he turned on not in the fourth, but at least in the third round, the outcome could have been different.

- Do you see partly your own fault in the defeat by Blades?

- It has always been and will be so.

If your fighter lost, you are to blame.

- Don't you think that every pound gained separates Volkov from a potential victory over the conditional Francis Ngannu?

Still, competing with him in power seems unrealistic, and the drop in speed risks having severe consequences.

- We will try to prevent this.

We regularly monitor the performance of the fighter.

And if weight gain starts to have a negative effect on other characteristics, then we will make adjustments.

Volkov himself perfectly understands everything and will be the first to say if something goes wrong.

Alexander's task is not to become the biggest, but to be strong, but at the same time fast and hardy within his division.

- In your opinion, who is currently the most dangerous opponent for Volkov among the heavyweights?

- Alexander is more comfortable with those who prefer to fight in a standing position.

But you can fight and win with wrestlers.

- Therefore, Ngannu is a more convenient opponent than Blades?

- I think so.

And Curtis shouldn't be too much of a problem right now.

In the summer, many said that it was worth giving up the fight with Blades, to have it later.

But it was decided to fight.

I don’t think Alexander lost without a chance.

After all, take a look at how the opponents looked at the end of the fight.

- Volkova is still remembered for defeats from Vitaly Minakov, Tony Johnson and Akhmed Sultanov, considering him a weak fighter.

Does it hurt you as a coach to hear that?

After all, one of the main areas in Strela Team, where you practice, is Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu ...

- Those defeats are already history.

We know what we believe in and we understand what we are doing.

The rest is just the opinion of other people.

Personally, I understand that Alexander is developing, progressing in stance, physics, and improving his condition.

And believe me, he also gets better in the fight.

Remember the same fight with Fabricio Werdum.

Then Volkov did not allow one of the best grapplers in the history of MMA to do anything.

- The same Conor McGregor is already considered a bad fighter by inertia, remembering his defeats from Artemy Sitenkov and Joe Duffy.

In the case of Volkov, could it be the same?

- Personally, I don't think McGregor is a bad fighter.

It's just that some specialize in striking techniques, while others - in wrestling.

- Which of the top 10 heavyweight divisions seriously surpasses Volkov in grappling?

- No one.

- Neither Blades, nor Alexey Oleinik?

- Not.

Did Blades show anything other than takedowns?

Moreover, we play according to the rules of MMA, not grappling. 

- Now Volkov is one of the most popular Russian fighters in the world.

Does this reflect on the popularity of Strela Team?

- We have a professional team.

The guys who want to train next to Strela Team and, in particular, Alexander, come to the Global Fight Gym.

Personally, I don't keep track of how many fighters came to us thanks to Volkov.

- Usually, the level of the hall is judged by the number of high-class fighters involved in it.

As a coach, who would you recommend paying attention to?

- This applies to almost all representatives of the team - Mikhail Zayts, Sharaf Davlatmurodov, Vladimir Kanunnikov, Denis Kanakov.

Besides, we have a lot of young guys.

I hope that over time, everything will return to normal, and our fighters will declare themselves.

Unfortunately, because of the pandemic, it's hard to deal with fights and contracts.

The UFC is doing a massive roster cleanup, as well as the PFL and Bellator.

I would like the pandemic to end as quickly as possible and everything to return to normal, and the athletes have a place to perform both abroad and in Russia.

The more leagues, the more fighters.

If I remember correctly, there are about 120 promotions in the US now.

Yes, many of them are medium-sized, but they also hold tournaments, thereby helping to develop athletes.

- Now some people think that there is an excess of fighters in Russia with a lack of promotions.

In your opinion, how many large organizations would be optimal for the country in the near future?

- At least ten promotions regularly running shows.

An increase in their number will have a positive effect on the development of MMA in Russia.

- On average, the UFC holds about 40 tournaments a year, Bellator - half that.

How many shows per year do you think is optimal for a major Russian promotion?

- One show a month would be a good result if there were ten organizations in the country.

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Publication from Taras Kiyashko (@taras_kiyashko)

- It is known that many foreign fighters go to Dagestan to pull up the fight.

Have famous athletes approached you to work out under your guidance?

- In our gym, fighters regularly hold training camps and sparring.

We are open for cooperation, we invite both coaches and athletes.

As for foreigners, there were cases when they performed in Russia and they needed to conduct the final stage of preparation here.

In this case, they turned to us.

- Could you name a few names?

- If we are talking about coaches, Kenny Johnson (Black House wrestling coach, known for working with Anderson Silva, Lyoto Machida, BJ Penn and others), whom we consider part of our team, Sammy Schilt (four-time champion of the Grand Prix K-1).

We also invited the ex-Glory champion Artem Levin, the world champion in kyokushin karate Maxim Dedik.

In 2021, we plan to continue working in this direction and agree on the arrival of famous mentors, so that we ourselves and our fighters could learn something new.

- And if we are talking about fighters?

- The guys from Black House came, and almost all the leading representatives of heavy weight among Russians trained.

It seems to me that our hall is quite famous.

- In football, coaches often go on internships to famous colleagues, thanks to which they get the opportunity to observe their work, learn something from them.

Do you often visit other halls?

- When foreign specialists come to visit us, this is also a kind of internship.

In the course of joint work, I learn something new, exchange experiences.

For example, we spent the last week before the fight with Overeem at Black House, during which time I learned a lot.

I try to benefit from any trip.

- Surely every coach has in mind several fighters with whom he would very much like to work.

Can you single out three of them?

- I have enough of mine.

But I would really like to visit the largest halls in the world with them, so that they get additional experience.

For example, in the US, we mostly trained at Black House, but also attended Kings MMA occasionally.

They haven't reached the American Kickboxing Academy yet, but the desire was there.

I would like to note that the preparation is based on a specific opponent.

If it is necessary to work out in a certain camp, then we will do it.

Or we will invite a specific mentor or fighter to our place.

Right now, our options are exclusively limited by the pandemic.

- Many are wondering whether the UFC will make Alexander the first contender for the belt.

In particular, Volkov's manager Ivan Bannikov is confident that this will be the case if Stipe Miocic wins over Francis Ngannu.

Do you agree?

- Ivan is my partner and friend.

I absolutely agree with him.

Much will depend on how the fight between Miocic and Ngannu ends, as well as two others that will take place in the coming weeks - between Blades and Derrick Lewis and Rosenstrike and Cyril Gunn.

Naturally, the ambitions of John Jones and the opinion of the matchmakers will play an important role.

- What is more profitable for Volkov to win Miocic?

- It seems to me that in case of victory, Stipe can announce his retirement from the sport.

It will be a beautiful retirement and the UFC will be playing for the vacant title.

It will be worse if Miocic wins and stays, but decides to take a long break.

- What will happen to the division if Ngannu succeeds?

- If Ngannu wins, it will be great.

He likes to fight often.

Although who knows what will happen after his victory.

Everyone wants to hold the belt longer.

But guessing is pointless - we will find out about it very soon.

Perhaps the UFC will name John Jones as the first challenger, and the guys in line will say, “What to do?

Will you have to wait again? "

- How fair is it to let Jones fight for the title right off the bat?

- On the one hand, this is unfair.

On the other hand, Jones is a name.

We have to think how profitable it is for the UFC.

They calculate profit, ratings and everything else.

In addition, you need to understand what is on John's own mind.

Does he want to have a kind of warm-up fight in a new division for himself or is he ready to fight for the belt right away?

- From a financial point of view, making Jones the first challenger is the most beneficial for the UFC?

- This is one of the interesting options.

At least for the United States.

But, for example, Volkov's duel with Ngannu or Miocic seems to me no less attractive.

For the Russian market, for sure.

- Do you think the UFC attaches great importance to the Russian market?

- Otherwise, the promotion would not have come here.

Tournaments are only held in the United States and the UAE solely due to the pandemic.

The same France has long been standing in line.

In my opinion, many countries are interested in the UFC, and Russia is a huge state.

No wonder we are in third place in terms of the number of fighters in the roster.

- After the fight, Bannikov said that Volkov, along with Overeem, has the highest fighting IQ among the heavyweight.

Do you agree?

- Yes, absolutely.

- Who would you choose among the three strongest UFC heavyweight fighters in terms of key parameters - IQ, striking technique, wrestling, physics?

- To begin with, I will say that I am ready to include Volkov in the top 3 UFC fighters in all the above-mentioned indicators.

As for IQ, apart from Alexander and Alistair, I would also note Miocic.

In the fight, one of the leading positions is occupied by Blades (which is perfectly confirmed by the statistics of takedowns), Alexey Oleinik.

Werdum, who recently joined the PFL, definitely deserved a place among the leaders.

- Stand?

- It is difficult to assess unequivocally here.

There are technical drummers, and there is the same Ngannu, who needs to bring his fist to the opponent's head to make him fall.

And it is unclear whether this applies to shock or physics.

In the first case, I would single out Miocic and Rosenstrike.

The same Gan has a good base.