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The Ultimate Fighting Championship promotion is finally heading to Russia again. UFC Fight Night 149 is set to take place at Saint Petersburg, Russia, where a large number of Russian Mixed Martial Artists will take to the Octagon to showcase their skills.
The headlining fight at UFC Fight Night 149 was supposed to take place between Alistair Overeem and Alexander Volkov. However, Alexander Volkov had to withdraw from the competition, resulting in a last-minute change for Overeem's opponent.
Instead of Volkov, Overeem was scheduled to fight Alexey Oleinik. The last time the Russian fighter had taken to the UFC Octagon, he had shut down an MMA legend, Mark Hunt. That, too, was in front of a Russian home crowd.
Overeem is set to battle against Oleinik in front of a hostile crowd at Saint Petersburg. He is already fighting the odds but is coming into the fight on the back of a good win against Sergey Pavlovich.
Before he fought Oleinik, I had the chance to pose a few questions before him.
Catch all the live action from UFC Fight Night 149 on Sony Six and Sony Six HD from 10:30 PM onwards on the 20th of April.
Q. You had been preparing for Alexander Volkov for your opponent. With the last minute change happening, have you had to change your approach to training completely?
AO: I haven’t had to change much. A little bit, but not too much.
Q. Which fighter would you say has been your favourite to fight against in your career so far?
AO: I’ve had too many favorite opponents to name just one.
Q. With Brock Lesnar losing at WrestleMania, he might be coming to UFC soon. Would you like to face him in the future?
AO: No, he’s done. Finished.
