Alexander
Volkov believes
Ultimate Fighting Championship CEO Dana
White didn’t recognize him, but he has a more pressing concern:
his path to a title shot.
Volkov made a surprise appearance at the
UFC 333 prefight news conference in Abu Dhabi and asked White
what he needed to do to earn a championship opportunity. The
exchange prompted questions about whether White recognized the
heavyweight veteran. White insists he did, but Volkov remains
unconvinced.
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Alexander Volkov questions Dana White’s response after
confronting him at the UFC 333 news conference
Volkov suggested White might confuse his name with that of
featherweight champion Alexander
Volkanovski. However, “Drago” said recognition matters less to
him than getting an answer about his title prospects.
“Of course he didn’t recognize me,” Volkov told Ariel Helwani.
“First of all, I’m a Russian fighter; I’m not even sure he can
remember my name and I bet every time he hears my name, he thinks
they’re talking about Alexander Volkanovski. But it’s fine; there
are more than 500 fighters on the roster, so he doesn’t have to
recognize every fighter. But to talk seriously, he still didn’t
have an answer to my question. I’m asking, what should I do? What
am I supposed to do to get a title fight? And they don’t have an
answer.”
Volkov has long been a heavyweight contender. The 6-foot-7
Russian’s most recent defeat was a disputed split decision against
current champion Ciryl Gane
in 2024. He has since won three consecutive fights, most recently
outpointing Rizvan
Kuniev at UFC 333.
Alexander
Volkov explains why he showed up to the UFC 333 presser, and is
still convinced Dana White did not recognize him: „I saw they
didn’t have me on the press conference again, the same as the last
three fights. I don’t know why. I just went through the regular
gates like a regular fan… I had some questions for the fighters
and Dana White. Of course he didn’t recognize me… I’m not even
sure he can remember my name, and I bet every time he hears my
name, he thinks they’re talking about Alexander
Volkanovski. But to talk seriously, he still didn’t have an
answer to my question. I’m asking, what should I do? What am I
supposed to do to get a title fight? And they don’t have an
answer.“— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani)
October 28, 2026