[랭크5=고현 기자] In this interview, John Hyon Ko of Kumite TV is joined by Sasha Palatnikov to talk about his upcoming title fight against HEAT champ Son Sung-Won at AFC 12 in South Korea, promotional debut last January, Hybrid MMA in Hong Kong, fighting on the same card as Choi Hong-Man, and more.

Sasha Palatnikov will take on Son Sung-Won for the inaugural middleweight title at AFC 12: Hero Of The Belt on June 10 in Seoul, South Korea.

Notable excerpts from the interview:

John Hyon Ko: "When you got that offer at middleweight for the title, did you have to sit down with your team and talk about it? Because like you mentioned, you are a welterweight. So going up another weight class that's 15 pounds is a totally different level of fighting."

Sasha Palatnikov: "I %100 agree with you. To be honest with you, in my career I haven't put a huge emphasis on my strength and conditioning because when I begin to lift, get on a vigorous program I tend to put on size. Sometimes fighting at welterweight I'd rather sacrifice a little strength to have the endurance. But I sat down with one of the best strength and conditioning coaches that I ever met, his name is Gabriel Carol. The dude is a beast. He basically explained to me that we can get you just as strong, just as fast, just as powerful you would want to be at 84 kilos and more."

John Hyon Ko: "Your opponent [Son Sung-Won] has not competed in almost two years, do you see that as an advantage going in?"

Sasha Palatnikov: "I don't believe in that ring rust, man! You could be doing things in your life and it could be positive sometimes. You could be progressing in your professional life, maybe he has been in the gym working on his weaknesses."

John Hyon Ko: "When you lay your head down and envision this fight, what do you see happening?"

Sasha Palatnikov: "I really see this being a stand up fight. I don't see him pursuing a takedown. He is the taller guy as well so it's going to take a lot of work. I only see him going for that if he is hurt or if he is really unsuccessful in his striking. But it's going to be a striking fight. Probably similar to the first round of my last fight."

For the audio version of the interview CLICK HERE or go to iTunes.

고현 기자 jhkmma@gmail.com