Hong Kong’s Sasha Palatnikov reignites UFC dream with 67-second TKO at UAE Warriors
- ‘The White Lotus’ gets first-round TKO in Dubai to boost hopes of becoming Hong Kong’s first representative in the UFC
- ‘MMA originated in Hong Kong,’ says Palatnikov – ‘Bruce Lee started it out there’
As Sasha Palatnikov draped his body in the Hong Kong flag heading to the cage at UAE Warriors 13 in Dubai, the internet trolls were out in force.
“People were commenting on the YouTube stream like, ‘He’s from Hong Kong? He doesn’t look like he’s Chinese’,” Palatnikov (5-2) told SCMP MMA after his first-round TKO victory on Friday night.
The 31-year-old became the first Hong Kong-born MMA champion after winning the welterweight title with Korean promotion Angel’s Fighting Championship last year. But he left the city for Las Vegas in January, looking to sharpen his skills at one of the best gyms in the sport, Syndicate MMA, under the tutelage of John Wood, one of the best coaches in the game.
“People don’t understand my story,” he added. “I was born and raised in Hong Kong. I don’t have any other home. I love to represent Hong Kong – I’ve done it in multiple sports. To be able to raise the flag in a place like Dubai, especially in a time like this … I don’t think there’s any fighters in Hong Kong fighting, I’m the only one carrying that flag right now.”
Palatnikov dreams of becoming the first Hong Kong representative in the UFC, and Friday night’s slick 70-second win over the latest replacement Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt Paulo Henrique Teodoro (5-6) – coming just five months after he underwent surgery – will have done his cause no harm.
“I know I’m gonna get there, eventually. I’ve been saying it for years, I’ve been putting in the work. The results will show,” he said. “I just wanna show people that, hey, MMA originated in Hong Kong. Bruce Lee started it out there.
” I was a five-year-old kid who got put into martial arts by my parents. And who would’ve thought I would go down this road and become a professional fighter? I’m a different fish in a different pond and I think people could be interested in that story.
“I’m very well travelled, I’m a bit of an international guy, but my heart and my blood are in Hong Kong. I will always continue to represent Hong Kong, regardless of what people say or what people think. That’s my home. I will always fight and represent Hong Kong.
“If there are people that support me and see that, that’s great. The more people can get an idea of what I’m trying to achieve, hopefully they jump on it. I know Hong Kong likes success. The more success I can bring, the more the support, sponsorship and opportunities will just flourish, I hope.”
Syndicate head coach John Wood was out in Dubai cornering Palatnikov, who headed back to Las Vegas on Sunday morning.
But he could return for the next UAE Warriors show on November 27 – with the vacant welterweight title on the line – against his original opponent Omar Hussein, who tested positive for Covid-19 before the fight.
“I’m just excited for the coming months and to hopefully be back out here in November,” said Palatnikov. “There are maybe some rumours of a title on the line. so we’ll see.
“The welterweight title is vacant right now, so who knows. Maybe my original opponent will step up to the plate, and maybe we’ll go for the title.
“I can’t predict what’s gonna be happening. But rumours have it that’s something that might be spoken about, so we’ll see. I’m looking forward to getting back to training. Once that phone rings, I’ll be ready. If they wanna do it, I like shiny belts, add it to the collection. Not a bad end of 2020 when it started off not as good.”
