Russian heavyweight Denis Goltsov earned his third consecutive victory in the PFL: 2023, defeating American Jordan Heiderman by triangle choke submission in the first round. Thus, he advanced to the final where he will face Brazilian Renan Ferreira in the fight for $1 million.
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In an exclusive interview with Telecomasia.net, Goltsov talked about:
- his latest fight with Jordan Heiderman and the upcoming final of the PFL season;
- the likelihood of a fight against Francis Ngannou;
- how he will train with Jon Jones in October;
- why the rise of pop-MMA is a result of the decline of culture and society;
- what to expect from the merger of Bellator and the PFL;
- when Petr Yan will take the belt from Sean O'Malley.
"I thought my opponent would try to put up a fight, but for some reason he went straight to wrestling"
- Tell us how you prepared for the semi-final fight.
- The main training camp was at our base in Saint Petersburg. We trained with the guys who are preparing for competing in ACA, so the joint preparation went well. I went to Virginia to prepare for the fight for five to six days and I arrived in New York already during the week of the fight. The summer was nice and we could train outside. We have a proper place for outdoor training where everyone gathered. I was confident in my shape and satisfied with both the training camp and the fight. The result did not take long.
- Jordan Heiderman is especially dangerous because of his low kicks. Did he cause you any problems in the fight?
- I watched his technical skills from his previous fight and it was clear to me what his base is and what he will focus on. There was a chance for him to try to fight, so I don't know why he went to wrestling. He tried to finish the fight in the first round as expected.
- You won all three of your fights this season early. Is that a result of your progress or the lack of competition in the heavyweight division of the PFL?
- There is enough competition in the PFL. I can't say it's easy to get past everyone there. The preliminaries may seem that way because it's a selection and some fighters, like Heiderman, come there to try their luck. Nevertheless, he made it to the semi-finals. I think it's a success for him. For me, the season had its ups and downs and was very surprising. Before the first match I had to change three opponents and the second qualifying match was over too quickly. I didn't expect it to happen like that and I planned for the fight to go the other way. The opponent was a pretty good puncher and I thought the fight would last into the late rounds.
- When will the final with Renan Ferreria take place? What impression did the Brazilian make on you during the staredown?
- The final is on December 25th, so we have three months to prepare. We know each other well: each of us knows how the other one fights, we've met several times at tournaments, and I expected that we would meet again in the previous seasons. Everything led to this. He's the favorite from another side of the bracket, so destiny predictably brought us together in the final. We both understand everything and the winner is going to be the one who is better prepared.
"The chances of my fight with Ngannou are slim"
- Have you often faced opponents of similar height to you, like Ferreira? How difficult is it to work with them?
- Not often, of course. Last season I fought against Maurice Greene and of course it was uncomfortable because the grappling gets stickier and the striking technique isn't like in the gym where you work on combos. You have to adapt to different awkward angles and distances.
- If you win the season, do you expect to meet Francis Ngannou next year?
- That chance is objectively slim. It is clear that he came here for the money, but that requires a very hyped up famous opponent, and everything needs to be organized just for them. Otherwise it makes no sense for the organization or for Francis to have this fight.
Bet on MMA with 1xBet- Do you see yourself as a well-known and hyped-up opponent?
- Only if I win the belt and start talking a lot about it and try to make provocations. Maybe it will work, but I'm not a fan of making a lot of negative statements about my opponents before a fight, to market it the way they want. Everybody understands that the more nasty things the opponents say, the better it is for the organization and the marketing of the fight.
- What do you think about Ngannou trying to box with Tyson Fury? How big is his famous puncher's chance?
- It's not about that, it's about the fact that he has a chance to perform and he will perform. That's a success. The rest is just technical stuff. Objectively speaking, he will probably lose, he has very little chance.
We have seen all these fights of professional boxers against MMA fighters. They come to make money, but they do not see it as a chance to get a real victory
"I will train with Jon Jones in October"
- We are currently hearing that the PFL is going to buy Bellator. How much more interesting will the heavyweight division be with new blood and what could the combined division be like?
It will be a huge boost. It will be interesting to see what the tournament format will look like. If there are 16 people in the season, it will be crazy hard to run the qualifiers with that many fighters. It will be technically difficult to do that in one year. If you get injured in the qualifiers and even get into the playoffs, it's not a given that you'll be able to do well.
- If the two leagues merge, would it be comparable to the UFC in terms of skill?
- It will hardly be comparable, but it will definitely be competitive. Then you can clearly say that we are the second organization in the world and all the top fighters fight apart from the UFC. You can just open up the Fight Matrix rankings, take the top fighters and see how many of them are in the UFC and how many are in the PFL and Bellator.
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- What do you expect from the Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic UFC title fight? Will the current Miocic be able to keep this fight interesting?
- This is a high level fight where you can expect anything. Of course Jon Jones has more chances. He has a lot of experience and skills. I talked to him after the fight and I'll probably go there in October to help him prepare for the fight and get myself ready for the final.
- Have you trained with Jon Jones before?
- No. We talked about it after the latest fight. He invited me, but it didn't make sense. Greene was fighting in the playoffs and he could make it to the finals. It didn't make sense to work with Jones. Now the rival is determined, and I can even work with Green in preparing for him.
"The lack of culture and ideology in sports is a tragedy of our time"
- The recent fight between two seasoned fighters Oleg Taktarov and Jeff Monson is widely discussed in Russia. What do you think about such fights?
Nowadays we're getting further and further away from the culture and ideology of sports. We can see it not only in sports, but also in other spheres. This is the tragedy of our time. Unfortunately, judging by the trends, we have little hope and we will see something like this more and more often. The saddest thing is that the more depraved, the better for this area, and it's only going to get more popular. First it was bare-knuckle fighting, then it was gloved MMA under the rules of boxing, and now the rules are being twisted and turned any way you want. The culture and identity of the sport is being eroded, and that is a critical mistake. MMA against celebrities has been actively promoted and fighters believe that as long as they get paid well, everything is fine. They could have gone to Love Island or something. The people there get paid well too.
- Why do fighters choose pop-MMA?
- It is a question of morality, culture and goals of each person. If a person has dignity, they strive for a certain social status, they strive for titles and achievements that are understandable to everyone. The status of an Olympic champion, world champion, and European champion is undoubtedly respectable, while the belt of some weird organization in some weird martial art style is questionable. If a person chases money, they deserve to be treated accordingly. But if they really want to get recognition in the global organizations like UFC, Bellator and PFL, then it's a completely different story and a completely different reputation. A fight works hard and doesn't only earn money, but a name that will follow him for the rest of his life. The most important thing is that nobody would despise you.
- Why does this trend get popular and keep growing in Russia?
- Our representatives lack imagination. We can see it on the musical stage and in show business. They don't understand anything, they have no talent and things like that. We can see it all the time. You've got to create something of your own, add your own ideology and culture, and present it well. But they find it all boring. The dumber and the bloodier - the better. You can understand what our society is like by observing all that.
- So sport is simply following the same trend as other areas of social life?
- Sure, that's what we're talking about. But everyone says it's in demand. Everyone watches it, like everyone watches some trashy talk show. It shows the quality of society. I do not want to enter this field. There are official sports, amateur sports, and they need to be developed instead of pop-MMA.
"Sean O'Malley is fine and all, but Petr Yan will come and take the belt back"
- Were you surprised by Sean O'Malley's championship? Many considered him a product of UFC marketing and he beat the dominant champion?
- I watched part of that fight and I can say that I didn't have any feelings, positive or negative. He did a good job of executing his plan for the fight. Petr Yan predicted a similar result. But when Petr comes and takes the belt away, I'll be way more interested.
- Are you sure that after a couple of successful fights he will be able to get a rematch with him?
- Definitely. That's what we're waiting for and everything is going in that direction.
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