Russian UFC heavyweight Alexander Volkov was booed after showing his support for people in Moscow who can't get work visas due to sanctions imposed as a result of their war with Ukraine.
Volkov stopped Jairzinho Rozenstruik in just over two minutes at the UFC Apex over the weekend, and sent a message of support to his fellow Russians at home who couldn't travel for the fight. The intimate Las Vegas venue can only host a handful of fans who must pay huge sums to get into fights held there, and they made their discontent known by booing Volkov after his message.
The Russian has fought twice since the invasion of Ukraine started by Russia in February, losing his first effort to Tom Aspinall in London back in March. He was quiet about the situation in his homeland going into both fights, but made his feelings clear after his first win since last October.
"I'm just feeling happy, to get a win again and start a win streak," he said in his post-fight octagon interview. "Now I’m waiting for next fight. I’m ready for a challenge or anything. I want to say hello to Moscow and my family, to everybody who stays in Moscow and cannot get a visa to get here to the USA.
"But my team here helped me with everything so thank you to everybody for helping and supporting me. I wish I will go forward in the future.”
Last month, the UFC confirmed that they won't be allowing fighters to wear flags to the cage, with the Russian situation believed to be part of the decision. Dana White refused to comment further than telling media "you guys know why" after the policy was made official.
The Russian's win proved mildly controversial in a sporting sense after Rozenstruik protested the stoppage, despite having taken a number of shots in such a way it seemed fair to end the contest. Referee Herb Dean is no stranger to controversy around fights being stopped, but has seen fae worse backlash in the past.
“I’m kind of confused on how the fight went and I’m disappointed that it was stopped,” Rozenstruik said in a statement on Twitter after the fight. “It definitely was a troubling situation, but I was far from giving up the fight. Did someone lay flat on the ground with his eyes shut? That’s what we call a knockout.
Do you agree with fans in Las Vegas booing Alexander Volkov? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below!
“Alexander and I basically just started exchanging some heavy strikes. The stuff you all wanted to see! Big up to Alexander Volkov for taking the fight. I’ve no notable damage and I like to fight soon.”
Volkov seemed happy with the stoppage, declaring that it's down to Dean to decide if the damage his opponent had taken was enough to end the fight. Speaking at the post-fight press conference, he said that Rozenstruik "was in a bad position”.
“The referee stopped the fight," he explained. "He was in a bad position and he took some hard punches and he was a little bit knocked out. It’s not my fault but ask this of the referee, not me. I just did my job.”
