“I’m really proud of myself with this,” continued Volkov, offering a more earnest reflection on the achievement and what it means to him. “I spent a big part of my career in the UFC, and going back to the time when I was young, that was a really big dream. Now I’m here as a veteran of the UFC. It’s hard to understand from the outside, as fans, but it’s just a big dream.
“Sometimes I feel like it’s just a normal life, nothing is special with me, but it’s a lot of special things,” he added, articulating a feeling and sensation familiar to many with unconventional jobs, myself very much included. “To be here for a long time, to be on top is a special thing, so I try to be proud of myself for this.”
FULL FIGHTS: Gane vs Volkov 2 | Aspinall vs Blaydes 2
As he should, because as much as we always talk about heavyweights having a longer shelf life than their contemporaries in the lighter weight classic, Volkov has been competing at a high level for well over a dozen years now, constantly facing off with the best the sport has to offer, and coming away on the positive side of things far more frequently than not.
Less than a month shy of the 10-year anniversary of his UFC debut, Volkov is closer to challenging for the heavyweight title now than he has been at any other point in his career, and like everyone else, he is deeply interested in seeing how things play out in Saturday night’s championship main event.
“It’s a new time, new era for UFC heavyweights after old champs like Stipe Miocic retired, Jon Jones retired, so it’s a new era,” offered Volkov, who has faced off with both the champion Tom Aspinall and challenger Ciryl Gane in the past. “Something will change after this fight, so it’s interesting what happens in this fight because something different automatically will happen (in the division).
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