On Friday, Aug. 2, top-ranked Denis Goltsov will fight MMA veteran Tim Johnson at PFL 7: 2024 Playoffs. Dan Kuhl of Combat Press spoke with Goltsov ahead of the heavyweight headliner.
How do you like the PFL format – where you take some off, and then you start fighting once every couple months?
I like the structure. I like how it’s run. You know, you have some time to, you know, get ready to work on new technique – new skill – heal up and whatnot. And then, after that, you have eight months of solid fighting, where you’re not just sitting and waiting for fights. Sometimes you want to fight, and there’s nothing happening, nothing going on. But here, right away, you know, if you’re doing well, you get fight after fight, and you know you can advance fast. I like the structure. I really enjoy it.
In previous seasons, you lost in a couple semifinals, and, then, last year in the final. What’s different – what’s the mentality – going into this season?
You know, at the end of the day, it’s not like I’m trying to add some new fancy technique. I’m working on a lot of things that I’m already good at, and I’m just making them more advanced so they’re harder for people to see. And, I’m also working on my weaknesses in certain areas – where I don’t feel like 100-percent comfortable. I’m working on those things so that I can be comfortable all over. Those are the main things right now.
So, your next opponent, Tim Johnson, came in on unexpected notice and was pretty successful in his PFL debut. What do you know about Tim, and did you get a chance to watch that fight?
Of course, Tim, you know, he’s a very solid fighter. He’s a tough guy. He’s experienced, and he uses opportunities wisely. He’s a hard-working man, so he’s taking this opportunity wisely. And yes, he is a tough guy.
What do you see as the biggest challenges fighting a guy like Tim Johnson?
Mainly, of course, he is a very big and strong guy, and he has a heavy punch and long arms. So, you have to be careful, because, at any given moment, you know, he can throw the heavy punches.
When you were competing in combat sambo, you have the championships that you competed in, and, obviously, you won multiple medals. Were you competing in a lot of sambo tournaments leading up to those championships?
So, basically, in Russia we have regionals and national championships. Where after you compete on those, and depending on your placement, if you place the, let’s say No. 1, then, of course, you’re going to represent your country, and you’re going to the world championships as a number-one representative. And then, if you, for example, get like second place at those national championships, then you’re going to be going to the European championships to get more experience. So, it depends on your rankings and standings, but, overall, we have tournaments are going on in Russia to prep us for the big championships.
So, do you think that all of that training in both sambo and MMA, side by side – you know, competing often – has led into your success in the pacing of PFL?
Of course, one helps another, you know? It’s the preparation, the training camps, that I do for my MMA fights and the preparation of the training camps that I do for my sambo competitions and fights. It’s very similar. It’s pretty much the same. So one helps the other, and it just elevates me and prepares me so that I’m better.
Do you see anyone as a big challenge moving forward? Is there anyone that you would like to fight between now and the finals?
II don’t have any negativity or any like, you know, baggage towards anybody that I would want to fight or beat up or anything like that. However, I did lose to [Renan] Ferreira, and I would love to have a rematch. I would love to, you know, win this year, and then, I would love to have a superfight with him and avenge my loss. That would actually be a really big thing.
What do you do when you’re not in the gym or training? What’s your life outside like outside of fighting?
Of course, there’s, you know, a lot of training, a lot of all that goes into that. But. In my free time, I absolutely love spending time with my family. That takes a lot of my time, also. And then, I try to squeeze time in for my favorite hobbies – fishing and hunting and all those things. So, I have to make some time for that as well. I have two boys that are six and five, and they are in football and gymnastics.
What’s going to happen on Aug. 2?
People can expect seeing a very high-level fight – very experienced fighters. People can see my style and everything I’ve been preparing for over the years – that elite level of fighting – and it’s going to be 100-percent a very exciting fight for all my fans and supporters, but also for just general MMA enthusiasts who want to see a great high-level fight.