Denis, who’s on a 10 fight win streak, returns to the cage at ACA 99 in Moscow, he is set to face the Afghani lightweight fighter, Baz Mohammed Mubariz. Kanakov has already fought fighters from Afghanistan on two previous occasions, and finishing both by way of knockout. Mubariz challenged the Russian on social media and is looking to get revenge for his compatriots. We talked to Denis and got his thoughts on the upcoming fight, his fight camp and much more.
On his fight camp:
Everything is going smooth, just a little more work to go till the fight. I feel great, my fight camp went well. Now I’m maintaining my weight and preparing to start the cut.
On Mubariz social media activity:
I wouldn’t call it offence to me. He can talk if he wants too, just be careful not to cross the line. He’s a fighter, just like everyone else. I don’t underestimate him. We train and work hard. We have studied all of his fights and figured out his strengths and weaknesses.
On their rivalry:
This fight was set to happen in 2017. When I fought another Afghani fighter, some people told me “our fighter wants to avenge our brother” or something like that. They disappeared for some time and then made themselves known again after I beat another of their countrymen. They told me Mubariz is going to avenge his brothers. I agreed to the fight of course. there’ll be a lot of fan watching this fight, not only Afghani, but Russian as well.
Message to fans:
Dear fans, September 27th at ACA 99, I really want to see you all there. Your support hugely motivates me. It’s so nice to see many people calling me, sending me texts and just being interested in what I am doing. I appreciate that you care.
I want to say big thank you to my team for the great fight camp they organised for me. And also I’d like thank my family for support and motivation.
