Middleweight Mikhail Kolobegov is set to fight in the ACB 82 main event in Sao Paolo, Brazil. He'll face ACB’s former light-heavyweight champion Thiago Silva. Mikhail has spoken about his recovery, changes that he made in training process, acclimatization and more.
You’ve recently had a series of injuries that have kept you from competing. What we’re the injuries and how has your recovery gone?
- I'm feeling great right now. Yes, I broken my arm at ACB 61. It was a very long recovery process, I was hoping to get back sooner but as they say: "man plans, God laughs". Now I'm healthy. My knee is also fine. So everything is great.
Did that experience make you take your recovery more seriously?
- Now I understand that it is a mistake to go too hard sometimes. I'm smarter about my safety during training now, I'm wearing headgear, shin guards and stuff like that. I didn't change much in my weight-cut process. Also we're doing IV's, that helps my recovery. It's not cheap, but if you can afford it you definitely should use that. Alongside that I also use supplements: protein, BCAA, vitamin complex, creatine.
Don't you worry that you might have not enough time to acclimatize in Brazil?
- I wanted to get in Sao Paolo earlier but it's expensive in Brazil. It's all about money. Of course I'd like to get there sooner but I can't afford that. So I'll get there two weeks in advance. I know my body, so I'm sure I won't acclimatize fully, but I'll feel much better than if I'd get there three days before the fight.
Give us your thoughts about your opponent?
- I respect Thiago Silva. He's a good, though fighter. He's popular in MMA world and he's very experienced but it doesn't scare me a bit. If anything, I only like hard challenges. I'm not sure how long I'll be fighting, so I'm enjoying everything about it. I'm happy that God gave me the opportunity to fight in Brazil.
- I'm ready to fight him everywhere: on the feet and on the ground. He's training with Big Mike (In Holland), good for him. I'm getting ready in my hometown, in "Kavkaz" gym. I want to thank all my sparring partners: Sergey Martinov, Vitaly Bigdash, Evgeny Goncharov, Stas Klybik, Evgeny Belyaev, Oleg Naidenov. These guys help me a lot. I want to thank my team - Strela Team, that with me from the beginning. Thanks to my sponsors and parters: Azovportflot, trustmariner, trust snab, trust terminal and last but not least I want to thank my family. All these people help me a lot. Thanks, as well, to ACB for giving me this opportunity. See you in Brazil!
