Alexander Volkov sat down with Helen Yee, called Josh Hokit the easiest title fight of his life, and then said sorry to Josh Hokit in the same breath. That’s the most Volkov sequence imaginable. The man is nicknamed Drago, and he trash talks like Ivan Drago holding the elevator door for you.
Here’s the setup. Ciryl Gane got promoted from interim to undisputed heavyweight champion after Tom Aspinall vacated the belt because of eye injuries. Gane’s first defense comes against Hokit in the UFC 334 main event on Nov. 14 at Madison Square Garden. Volkov fights Rizvan Kuniev at UFC 333 later this month. His dream scenario, as he laid it out to Yee: Hokit wins, Volkov wins, and the two of them meet for the title.
“For me, it will be the easiest fight ever, easier title shot,” Volkov said, per BJPenn.com via MMA Junkie.
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Then came the apology. “Sorry, Josh Hokit, I don’t want to say something bad about you. You are a nice guy.”
The Hokit line is the decoy
Everybody is going to aim at the easiest-fight-ever line, and fair enough, it’s spicy. But the most revealing thing Volkov said had nothing to do with Hokit. Strip away the politeness and he told you he would rather fight anybody on Earth than Ciryl Gane again.
And honestly? I get it. Volkov has lost to Gane twice on the scorecards. The 2024 rematch went to a split decision, and Dana White himself felt Volkov deserved to get his hand raised, according to Bloody Elbow. Losing to the same guy twice, the second time in a fight your own boss thought you won, would make me root for a meteor to hit the Garden. Volkov is just more diplomatic about it. He’s rooting for the upset so he never has to see those judges’ cards with Gane’s name on top a third time.
That’s why I respect this more than I want to mock it. Fighters spend so much energy pretending they don’t care who holds the belt. Volkov looked at the bracket, did the math out loud, and admitted his path to gold gets a lot shorter if the Frenchman goes away. That’s refreshing honesty from a heavyweight contender who has been passed over for a title shot again.
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Calling anyone ‘easy’ at heavyweight is a choice
Now the part where Drago gets a little ahead of himself. Hokit did not wander into an MSG main event by accident. He earned this shot with wins over Curtis Blaydes and Derrick Lewis. Those are real names, and the UFC doesn’t hand a Garden headliner to a guy who beat a couple of tomato cans. Bloody Elbow also noted Volkov laughed when Gane vs. Hokit was announced and had mocked Hokit before, so this talk about an easy night has been simmering for a while.
Volkov even hedged his own take. He said he could bet on Gane, and he admitted Gane has the better odds of winning. The sportsbooks agree, with Gane opening as the betting favorite. So his prediction is chalk and his wish is the upset. That’s a fan with a parlay, which is a weird posture for a top contender.
And here’s my real gripe as a guy who loves a villain. If you’re going to call a man the easiest title fight in history, commit to the bit. Don’t turn around and tell him he’s a nice guy like you just bumped his cart at Costco. Volkov had the opening to go full heel and chose manners. Charming, sure. Bad for the promo package.
Volkov is scouting the whole division
The other half of the Yee interview tells you Volkov is studying every lane to the belt. Alex Pereira, the former two-division champ, meets Sergei Pavlovich at UFC 335 in December, chasing his first heavyweight win. Volkov’s read on that press conference was the funniest thing anyone has said all week. He joked that one of them will just say we’ll see and the other will just yell chama. That’s the whole presser, and he’s right.
He also picked his former opponent Pavlovich to win. “I see Alex Pereira going on a losing streak because it’s a very hard matchup for him, especially because Pavlovich punches very hard,” Volkov said.
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Put it together and you can see the map in his head. Gane out, Pereira knocked off the heavyweight fast track, and Volkov standing across from a challenger he considers a nice guy and an easy night.
It’s a great plan with one problem. None of it matters unless he gets past Rizvan Kuniev at UFC 333 later this month, a fight Bloody Elbow says could turn into a title eliminator depending on how the rest shakes out. Volkov has already booked his dream title fight in his head. He still has to win the fight he actually has.
Beat Kuniev, then watch Nov. 14 like the rest of us. Just know that if Hokit gets his hand raised at the Garden, Drago owes him a lot more than an apology.
