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UFC heavyweight contender Alexander Volkov made a highly talked-about appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show, where he used heavy sarcasm to address the division's current title picture. Volkov reacted to the promotion's decision to grant undefeated prospect Josh Hokit the next shot at undisputed champion Ciryl Gane at UFC 334. Clearly frustrated at being skipped over despite his decade-long tenure in the company, the Russian fighter launched into a deeply ironic speech, pretending to praise the matchmakers for their decision.
During his online conversation with Helwani, Volkov jokingly claimed to be fully supportive of Hokit getting the championship opportunity ahead of him. "It's very admirable for UFC to put the guy with the serious mental condition to title shot. So, of course he should go in front of me," Volkov stated with a completely straight face. He added that the situation serves as an incredibly inspiring story for anyone dealing with a mental illness, highlighting how noble it was of the organization to look past Hokit's polarizing, unusual public persona.
While Volkov kept a serious tone throughout his comments, declaring that you can't laugh about people who have a mental illness, his underlying annoyance at the division's ranking system remained completely obvious. He emphasized that America would be proud of Hokit, but made it clear that he expects their paths to cross eventually. Volkov, who must first defeat Rizvan Kuniev at UFC 333, concluded that if Hokit manages to win the belt, he looks forward to kicking his head off his shoulders in a classic Russia versus America showdown.
