On August 3rd, at the UFC on ABC 7 tournament taking place in Abu Dhabi (UAE), several fighters representing Russia will compete. Victoria Dudakova will have her third fight in the American league, and her opponent will be American Sam Hughes.
Bet on MMA with 1xBet
In an interview with Telecomasia.net Dudakova:
- highlighted the endurance of her opponent Sam Hughes;
- compared herself to a character played by Arnold Schwarzenegger;
- stated that she is ready to fight for the UFC title;
- admitted that she won’t become a she-Hulk;
- responded to criticism of women's MMA from Loik Radzhabov;
- evaluated her progress in learning English;
- criticized the attitude of the IOC towards Russians;
- shared how Umar Nurmagomedov and Shara Bullet can defeat their opponents.
“I breathe like a Terminator”
– Sam Hughes has five losses in eight fights in the UFC. Your previous opponents came into the fight with three losses. Do you want to say, like Don Corleone, “UFC, you’re giving me fights, but you're doing it without respect”? I mean, winning may not significantly improve your ranking.
– Yes, but much depends on how you perform in the fight. If you win early or impressively, that can help a bit with the rankings. Initially, I was supposed to fight a different opponent. I'm thankful to Sam for accepting this fight. The originally higher-ranked fighter was unavailable. At least it’s that way. And she’s no walk in the park either. She is the one who handed Jaqueline Amorim her only loss, who was supposed to be my opponent. She has good cardio; almost no one has finished her, except for one fight. She often wins the third round, pushing everyone to their limits. I need to work hard.
– How do you plan to handle an opponent who breathes like a Terminator in a bright, confident, and spectacular way?
– Luckily, I breathe like a Terminator too. We've done a lot of work in this aspect. I've never had issues with that. Of course, I want to finish the fight early. I will try to do that in every round. It will be interesting.
“I will agree to a title fight”
– What does Hasanali Gasanaliev say about this? Are you ready to fight girls from the top 5?
– I personally believe that I am ready. Hasanali has said that even if there is a championship fight, we just need a full training camp. Other than that, we are ready and will agree to the bout.
– Under what circumstances would you decide to move up in weight?
– I plan to stay at 52 kg. I did want to try fighting at 57 kg, but objectively, based on weight cutting and bulk, it was clear that I’m too small.
“I won't become a raging Hulk"
– Will we hear you say something to your opponent like, “I’ll rip your jaws off, poke out your eyes, and corner you”?
– I can be confrontational, but only when others provoke me. I can’t just openly escalate. Of course, I want to beat her, knock her out, choke her, or submit her. But without the aggression of “I hate her.” She hasn’t done anything to me. My interest is purely sports-related. I will only hate her in the cage, not outside of it. Outside the cage, I feel neutral towards her and grateful that she agreed to come to the opponent’s territory.
– What needs to happen in a fight for you to turn into a she-Hulk?
– Nothing. I won’t become a raging Hulk. I’m always rational in fights. I do mental work. I’ve fought all my matches without excessive aggression. I didn’t give it my all because I knew I could defeat these girls. There was no point in showing everything, although I need to go out and demonstrate all that I can to get better opponents. I’m someone who has worked through this aspect already. I will do everything for victory.
"It's hard to be a woman in MMA"
– Let’s increase the level of aggression. What do you think about Loik Radzhabov’s words, who prefers to go to the bathroom instead of watching women’s MMA?
I’ve already said multiple times that it’s hard to be a woman in combat sports. Every commentator, couch critic, and some fighters consider women’s fights to be unworthy. They believe a woman’s place is in the kitchen and they turn off the TV when women’s bouts start. I’m now at peace with this. A person can stand in front of me and try to bully me, and I’ll just say: “Get lost.”
– The goal of “three years to championship” seems unlikely to be achieved. Do you have a goal to start a family by a certain age?
– I don’t have that goal. Let’s not predict. What if I win now and they immediately offer me a title shot? I could end up having two or three fights before the title. If a year passes (until the expected championship), then we can consider that I made it in time. For now, there’s still time. If I stay injury-free, I’m ready to compete in a tournament in October.
– What should your boyfriend be like?
– I haven’t thought about that because I’m focused on my sport.
– Is the Russian flag with you?
– Yes. They brought it to us.
"I love talking with my physiotherapist"
– How are things going with getting a driver’s license or learning English?
– I have zero success in this area. I’m trying with English. Honestly, during the camp, I have to give up everything. I try to talk with the guys during training and with the coaches. But the lessons during training are put on hold. I love communicating with my physiotherapist, who helps me and gives me advice when something is off.
When I need to say something, especially on camera, I start to feel shy. I talk quickly in Russian and want to do the same in English, but I can’t. My brain doesn’t keep up with thinking quickly in English, so I make mistakes. I’ve been advised to speak more slowly and think longer. It’s challenging for me because I tend to babble.
– What did you think of the Olympic opening ceremony?
– I didn’t watch it; it’s not my thing.
"Now they treat us like we aren't human"
– Did you ever dream of winning Olympic gold?
– I dreamed about it when I was swimming. I wanted to become an Olympic champion and set high goals for myself. Even when I first got into the pool, I immediately aimed to be an Olympic champion. My parents worked hard and did everything for that. In the end, swimming led me to fighting, and now I’m trying to become a UFC champion instead of an Olympic champion.
– Did some of the Russian sport federations do the right thing by refusing to go to Paris?
– It’s hard to judge. I understand both sides. Many of our top athletes were barred from competing. The IOC prohibited them from participating in any form, even under a neutral flag. Right now, it feels like they treat us like we aren't humans. Most likely, we faced lawsuits and all sorts of things so that later they could say: "These Russians can’t do anything." It's also disappointing for the athletes who have trained their whole lives.
"I was confident that Leon Edwards would win by knockout in the third round"
– Which fight on your card interests you more: Shara Bullet’s or Umar Nurmagomedov’s?
– I’ll be watching all of our guys’ fights.
– I though you might “go to the bathroom” during one of the fights.
– We’ll catch the fights at the hotel if they’re available on UFC Fight Pass. After the fight, you can’t stay in the arena. They’ll take you to the hotel, and then you can go back there on your own. But we’ll probably hand out our tickets.
– How will the trilogy between Valentina Shevchenko and Alexa Grasso end?
– We'll be cheering for Valentina. I hope she wins by submission. She looks good right now, fit and strong.
– In which round will the knockout, choke, or victory happen?
– I was confident that Leon Edwards would win by knockout in the third round. But look how that turned out. It was just an error on Leon’s part. He went into grappling, wanting to show he could do it. He suddenly decided to be a wrestler. If people work the way they need to...
If Umar pushes forward, tries to get takedowns, and sticks to his game plan without backing down, he will win. Shara’s fight is even more interesting. Michal Oleksiejczuk has good hands, while Magomedov has strong legs. So Shara needs to keep his opponent at a distance and strike from there.
