"I know that Volkov has made it into the country" - Tom Aspinall on whether Alexander Volkov fight is still happening

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Tom Aspinall (left), Alexander Volkov (right) [Image credits: @tomaspinallofficial via Instagram and Getty]

There has been a lot of uncertainty surrounding Tom Aspinall's Russian rival Alexander Volkov for the upcoming Fight Night. This came after several sports sanctions were announced against Russian and Belarusian athletes in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

However, the Brit is positive that the fight will happen. Speaking to Submission Radio, here's what Tom Aspinall said:

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"No official updates, but Volkov has made it into the country. I know last week in the UK the British Boxing Board of Control [BBBofC] banned all fighters from like Wednesday or Thursday and they already had Russian fighters in the country so hopefully, that's not going to happen to us. I've seen a few people like keep sending me screenshots of him. I'm just like, it's f**king weird, 'I know that he's here, stop sending me screenshots of him like walking around in the middle of London.' But yeah, he's in the country, he's made it anyway. So it's all positive stuff. He's coming."

Watch Tom Aspinall's full interview with Submission Radio below:

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Tom Aspinall on handling the stress of Alexander Volkov fight being up in the air

Tom Aspinal is only a few days away from stepping inside the octagon for his main event bout at the upcoming UFC Fight Night event. While the fight is still up in the air, Tom Aspinall revealed how he manages the stress in this situation. Here's what the 28-year-old said on Submission Radio:

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"I've got two choices - I can stay calm or I can completely lose my s**t and it's still not going to change the outcome of it. Also, I've opted for the calm option."

Aspinall's upcoming heavyweight clash with Volkov will be a huge step up in competition for the rising heavyweight star. As of now, there is no official confirmation if the UFC will seek a replacement for Volkov or if the fight will go ahead as planned.

UFC Fight Night: Volkov vs. Aspinall is scheduled to take place on March 19 at the O2 Arena in London. The event will start at 1 PM ET and the main card will get underway at 4 PM ET. Aspinall and Volkov are expected to make their walks at around 8 PM ET.

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