LAS VEGAS, NEVADA — “King Kong” is opening up about his new chunky physique.
With his back against the wall, Alexandr Romanov defended his No. 14 Heavyweight ranking and picked up a big win against Blagoy Ivanov last night (Sat., July 1, 2023), defeating him via unanimous decision inside UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Alexander Romanov defeats Blagoy Ivanov via unanimous decision pic.twitter.com/PNWoVXQaTq
— MMA Mania (@mmamania) July 1, 2023
Romanov, 32, has been highly criticized for his physique the last two times he has weighed in after being in tremendous shape for his UFC 278 showdown with Marcin Tybura.
Indeed, at UFC 278 last year, Romanov officially weighed in at 239.5, the lightest he has been in UFC thus far in his career. However, against Alexander Volkov earlier this year in March, he tipped the scales at a whopping 264.5 pounds … and did it again for UFC Vegas 76.
While most believe Romanov’s weight is because he doesn’t care or is lazy; however, the Moldovan revealed the reason for his weight gain.
“No, [my weight gain is] not strategy,” Romanov told reporters through a translator during his post-fight interview. “It’s just that after UFC 278, some terrible things happened in my life that kind of took me out of being disciplined, took me out of training hard.
“You know, with the help of the people that are closest to me, the help of my family, help of my coaches, I was able to kind of get back into it,” Romanov continued. “I was in terrible shape for the fight against Volkov. I didn’t feel like I was in the right place at all, both physically and mentally.
“But, I got back with the help of those closest to me, and to be honest, I’m the same weight as I was for that fight,” he concluded. “And as you could see, [I was] a way different fighter even though the weight didn’t change from the last fight. I really feel that I was graced by God.”
Romanov did not detail the terrible things that happened before his fight with Volkov. Nevertheless, The 32-year-old is now 6-2 in UFC and hopes to return to action later this year.
For complete UFC Vegas 76: “Strickland vs. Magomedov” results and play-by-play, click HERE.