SAN ANTONIO – Aleksei Oleinik mostly remembers working on his cardio with Walt Harris.
The UFC heavyweights sparred a little bit, and Oleinik even offered pointers on wrestling defense. But he didn’t tell Harris how to escape an Ezekiel choke.
“I didn’t teach it, but he didn’t ask,” Oleinik told reporters, including MMA Junkie, at a media day for UFC on ESPN 4. “If he’d asked, no problem. I’ll teach any guys.”
Harris could’ve used some inside knowledge from Oleinik on his signature move, which he’ll no doubt try to apply when the two meet Saturday at AT&T Center. But Oleinik isn’t convinced he’s got any sort of edge on his former partner.
“He’s very strong and young and motivated,” Oleinik said. “This will be an interesting fight.”
Oleinik didn’t balk at making a quick turnaround after volunteering on short notice to fight Alistair Overeem at UFC on ESPN+ 7. The fight led to a first-round TKO, but for Oleinik, that’s just part of the game.
“Every time when you fight with an MMA legend, this is a difficult fight,” he said. “In my opinion, it was 50-50, and this Alistair this time won.”
The matchup with Harris is one rebooked from a scheduled meeting at UFC on ESPN+ 8. Oleinik said there’s no special reason for again signing on to face off with an old training partner. It’s just part of the business.
He hopes it will be interesting, in a good way.
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