Rizvan Kuniev has plenty of confidence heading into UFC 333.
Kuniev is set to take on Alexander Volkov on the main card of the numbered event in Abu Dhabi on Saturday. It’s a pivotal fight at heavyweight as the winner will be closing in on a title shot. Although Volkov will have a sizable reach, Kuniev doesn’t care about that, as he believes he can dominate the Russian wherever the fight goes.
“I can dominate him everywhere,” Kuniev said at UFC 333 media day. “I can dominate him in the grappling, I can dominate him in the standup. There’s really nothing that I cannot do against him. I’m going to go out there, I’m going to dictate the pace, I’m going to say where the fight is going to go. I’m not afraid of his size, I’m not afraid of his reach, I’m not afraid of any of those things.
“So, this is the kind of opportunity that I cannot let go, this is something that I have to do. I’m happy, I’m thankful that I have the opportunity to go out there and fight against a living legend like he is. He’s been around for a really long time, he’s still fighting, he’s still showing the results. He’s probably at the prime of his career, at the prime of his performances, and now I get to go out there and trade places with him, take away his No. 2 spot, take away his position to fight for the belt.”
Rizvan Kuniev wasn’t turning down this opportunity
If Kuniev does get his hand raised at UFC 333, he would likely earn a title shot. However, the two are both Russian, and Volkov claimed they are friendly and have been in the same gym together at times.
So, the fight coming together was a bit of a surprise, but Kuniev said they aren’t close and saw no reason not to accept the fight.
“It would be silly for me to let go of such an opportunity to fight a No. 2 contender,” Kuniev said. “He’s in the organization here, he wants to be a champion, I’m here, I want to be a champion. I think that if he was in my position, he would have also said yes to this. It’s not like we’re some sort of old friends or anything.
“We literally had no idea each other existed until a couple of months ago. We met, we sparred maybe two-three months together and that’s it. It’s not like he’s family, it’s not like he’s a brother of mine.”
Given they don’t have much of a relationship, Kuniev saw no reason not to accept the fight and plans to make a statement on Saturday against Volkov.
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