On becoming religious:
“It all happened in Nizhniy Novgorod. I was invited for a competition there as well as a trip to some holy sites. After visiting there, something inside me changed. I didn’t just understand, but I actually felt that God exists. A lot of questions that troubled me then were answered. Everything fell into its place. Later, in my church, where I prayed I met father Andrei. I started to come to confession to him and often talked about various things. And then I asked him to become my spiritual advisor and he agreed. Since then he blesses me before every fight.”
On his spiritual advisor:
“He is in great shape right now. We run together with him and that’s just the beginning. He goes to the gym with me, trains. He still holds a pull up record in our gym. But he is a true Christian.”
On the American people:
“You know, Americans are people just like us. Different faith but they are very friendly and hospitable. However, I did not go into Catholic churches out of principle when I was there. Every morning I meet with a prayer and I did this in the hotel room.”
On fighting in the cage:
“I wouldn’t say the cage was that different. I trained in a similar cage in St. Petersburg and I knew what to do during the fight.”
On his dislocated thumb:
“I was worried about my thumb. At first I didn’t notice that I dislocated it. But then I felt my hand hurt and immediately started getting thoughts about how this will impact my career and whether I’ll be able to fight again. But then I gathered enough strength and knocked him out with a right. I didn’t have to change the tactics of the match too much.”
Translation is mine
: // KP.RU
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