Each enters off a loss, both are 1-2 over their last three fights, and each has run afoul of the select group of competitors stationed ahead of them in the rankings, making this a bit of a “something’s gotta give” type scenario for the dueling heavyweight hopefuls.
“I know he’s a striker, good in his standup,” Volkov said of Rozenstruik, who rebounded from his loss to Gane at the start of last year with a victory over Augusto Sakai in June, but then fell to Curtis Blaydes at UFC 266 in September. “But I feel I’m better, more technical, so I will try to finish him.”
Finish or not, Volkov has two things in mind following a victory on Saturday: get home to his family, and then get back in the Octagon once more in the fall.
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“The family is good, thank you,” said Volkov, the proud father and family man, who welcomed a second son with his wife last October prior to his bout with Marcin Tybura. “They are now in Moscow waiting for me. I miss all of them, but I need to fight, I need to do my job so I can go back, as usual.
“(As far as fighting), I would like to return in autumn,” he added. “Maybe in October, but as far as an opponent, I don’t know right now.”
The reason he doesn’t have a name in mind is because there is already a formidable challenger set to stand across from him this weekend, and getting through Rozenstruik is the only thing that matters at this moment.
