UFC on FOX 24's Alexander Volkov knows he has hands full with guy he likes in Roy Nelson

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – When Alexander Volkov got his UFC debut opponent, it was a dream come true … sort of.

The former Bellator heavyweight champion naturally was elated that he’d made his way to the UFC. But on the other hand, Timothy Johnson presented a few difficulties for him, stylistically speaking, when the two met this past November in Northern Ireland.

But even before that, Volkov had been having a nice turnaround after bouncing out of Bellator on a two-fight skid. The Russian picked up a pair of stoppage wins under the M-1 Challenge banner before coming to the UFC.

“It was a good year,” Volkov said. “I had two fights in M-1 with very good opponents. When I signed with the UFC, my first fight in the UFC was hard for me because I’d been thinking about it my whole career. It was a great year, and I hope this year will be the same like last year – I feel it will be a perfect year.”

Against Johnson, he took a split decision at UFC Fight Night 99 in Belfast. It wasn’t a perfect performance by any stretch, but he got that first UFC fight out of the way, got past the supposed UFC jitters, got a win and got to fight another day.

The matchup was one that gave him a few struggles, but perhaps those struggles will play to his advantage this week. Volkov (27-6 MMA, 1-0 UFC) takes on another tricky opponent at UFC on FOX 24 when he faces heavyweight veteran Roy Nelson (22-13 MMA, 9-9 UFC) at Sprint Center in Kansas City, Mo. The main card airs on FOX following prelims on FOX and UFC Fight Pass.

“My last opponent was very inconvenient for me as a fighter,” Volkov said. “He’s left handed, he’s a wrestler, he has unusual striking skills. I don’t like the same type of opponents, but when I got in the octagon with him it was a good fight for me and a good first fight in the UFC.”

Against Nelson, Volkov knows he’ll have his hands full yet again.

“He’s very tough and experienced in the UFC,” he said. “I’ve followed him all his career, so I also like him. He’ll be a good fight for me. He’s tough – he goes to the end, and few fighters can knock him out or submit him. So it will be a very hard fight for me.

“He’s very famous not just in the U.S., but all over the world. All my friends follow him. So of course, if I (beat) him, a lot more people will know about me. It’s a big fight for me to get a big name.”

Check out the video above for more from Volkov ahead of his fight with Nelson.

And for more on UFC on FOX 24, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.