"We were afraid if we'd be able to pass"- Alexander Volkov reveals he was concerned about getting through Russian customs amid the ongoing war

Alexander Volkov revealed that he dealt with a slew of problems that almost prevented him from getting to UFC London.

The Russian fighter arrived in England earlier this week, but he apparently had to clear some hurdles first. For one, travel has become difficult following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The ongoing conflict disrupted travel to and from Russia and has prompted several countries to restrict the issuance of visas to Russian athletes.

According to Volkov, traveling from Russia to England should have been pretty simple, but his flight was anything but that. During the UFC London pre-fight press conference, Volkov told reporters through an interpreter:

"It was a concern for me to. We were afraid we wouldn't be able to pass through Russian customs and the other customs because, as normal people, we had no idea what's happening to the rules. Every day comes new laws and stuff. The only difference for me right now was that I flew almost for a day. Usually I would be here in four hours, but I spent in the flight the same time that I [would have] if I was to go to the US and back."

Check out Alexander Volkov's interview below:

Volkov will face Tom Aspinall in the main event of the UFC's first event back in Europe since 2019. 'Drago' will attempt to extend his winning streak to two wins after his unanimous decision victory over Marcin Tybura last October.

---

Alexander Volkov had health issues heading into UFC London

Alexander Volkov claimed that travel wasn't the only obstacle he had to deal with ahead of his showdown with Tom Aspinall. The veteran cagefighter was apparently unable to train as much as he wanted to after he caught COVID-19 for a second time. He said:

"The case is that a month and a half before the fight, I got COVID a second time. So to prepare myself, I needed a full camp and I couldn’t spare even a week without the preparation with a full time, the sparring and everything. We’re very grateful to the UFC that they’re trying to help us get to the fight earlier but I couldn’t. We were quite sure that we would be able to get here. It turned out to be okay."

Despite all the issues, Volkov said he never contemplated withdrawing from the fight or delaying the matchup to a later date.