Former Bellator heavyweight champion Alexander Volkov will have an opportunity to get one step closer to a rematch with Vitaly Minakov by taking on Mighty Mo Siliga in the season ten heavyweight tournament semifinals tonight at Bellator 116.
Volkov earned a slot in the penultimate round of the bracket by finishing Mark Holata in under two minutes with strikes at Bellator 111.
The 25-year-old Russian’s win over Holata wasn’t the most conclusive victory as it was hard to identify a significant strike in the flurry that finished Holata, but Volkov is content with the victory.
“I didn’t expect it [the fight against Holata] to end the way it did – apparently I caught him with a liver shot with my knee,” said Volkov. “So it was a good experience for me.”
Since the loss to Minakov that snapped a ten fight win streak, Volkov has altered his training. Between the short amount of time and the curious ending of the Holata bout, there isn’t too much tape available of Volkov under his new training regimen, but he believes that he is now a much more well-rounded fighter.
“The main difference I’ve made in my training recently is that I started to work on another level, to do everything very precisely, and to avoid any mistakes,” said Volkov. “Now I can attack more, whereas before I didn’t do it much because I was afraid that my opponents would take me down. Now I’m not afraid of it. I’m way more focused now.”
In order for Volkov to get another crack at Minakov, he must first beat Mighty Mo, who has had a resurgence late in his combat sports career. After being gone from the sport for three years, the 43-year-old made his Bellator debut Bellator 100, where he was successful against Joe Charles. Mo would go on to submit Ron Sparks and Peter Graham in the Bellator cage.
Having watched Mo’s previous Bellator fights, Volkov is looking to buck the trend of Mo showing off his submission game against opponents.
“I think he [Mighty Mo] was able to showcase his wrestling and submission skills because his opponents allowed him to do so,” said Volkov. “I’ll dictate the action and impose my will against Mighty Mo. I have to move, and I think my cardio will be very good for this fight.”
Although his immediate sights are set on Mighty Mo, Alexander Volkov still has an eye set to his ultimate goal.
“Only one thing matters to me right now: the belt. I want the belt back! It would be good to have a rematch against Vitaly, but the belt is the most important to me, so I will fight whoever holds it!”