Alexander Volkov’s Back Tattoos: What Is the Meaning of the UFC Heavyweight’s Stingray and Samurai Tattoos? Who Is the Artist?

Most fans would agree that even getting to the UFC requires an individual to go through some rigorous processes. Apart from the hours of training and years of dedication required to get to the highest level, the sport of MMA packs yet another grueling challenge for its athletes. The cumulative amount of pain endured by an MMA athlete, even during their training sessions, is usually a lot more compared to athletes of other sports. A large chunk of UFC fighters often pack such painful background stories as well, and the stories of Alexander Volkov are what we’ll be looking at today.

Although many of them choose to keep those experiences to themselves, others opt to portray them through various forms of self-expression. Several UFC fighters have decided to reveal their untold stories through the tattoos on their bodies. Inkworks like the bird on Conor McGregor‘s chest also act as a homage to their respected ones. But some other fighters like Max Holloway and Dustin Poirier mostly intend to portray their personal side through their tattoos. However, when the discussion comes to the most attractive UFC fighter tattoo, fans might award a prestigious spot to the splendid inkwork that entirely covers the back of the UFC Heavyweight, Alexander Volkov.

Alexander Volkov’s Back tattoos – helmet of a samurai & stingray

Even though it’s mentioned that Alexander Volkov’s back contains two tattoos, currently, fans will only be able to see one of them. The 35-year-old Russian initially had a superb monochromatic ‘stingray’ tattoo that covered the upper part of his back. However, the Moscow native decided to get it covered later on. The design he chose has become one of the fan favorites over time. It showcases a beautifully detailed helmet of a samurai that covers Volkov’s back entirely.

The ’36-10 record-holding fighter’ exposed this brilliant piece of inkwork to the world for the first time at UFC 254. It may be said that the tattoo proved to be lucky for him as he finished off his opponent, Walt Harris, via a second-round KO. Volkov also talked about his then-brand-new tattoo at the post-fight press conference of the event.

Meaning of Alexander Volkov’s stingray & samurai helmet tattoo

Alexander Volkov’s back looked a lot different prior to the UFC 254. However, it did have a tattoo, and a lot of fans would agree it looked awesome as well. The inkwork represented a stingray whose fins stretched towards the left and right sides of Volkov’s back while its sting traced the line of his backbone.

A close look at the tattoo will reveal that it also contains a lot of detailing and patterns that form the fins of the stingray. Fans also might be able to spot a bat if they ignore the lower part of the tattoo. However, there are no reports describing Volkov’s vision behind getting this tattoo. He might have got it to serve his fashion desires.

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But there are several reports detailing the vision behind the splendid samurai helmet that currently occupies Volkov’s back. The 35-year-old has also uploaded multiple snaps of the attractive piece of inkwork to his own Instagram profile. The caption to one of them describes the significance of the tattoo quite well. When translated to English, it reads, “My alter ego. It’s keeping an eye on you”.

The Russian providing such a short description has left the tattoo open to a number of interpretations by the fans. In general, a samurai helmet represents valor, power, dedication, and the capacity to overcome life’s hardships. Volkov mentioning the tattoo as his “alter ego” might prompt fans to view him as a carrier of these qualities that show themselves at appropriate times. However, the noted artist who inked this piece on Volkov’s back described its significance as the confrontation between life and death.

Which artist designed Alexander Volkov’s back tattoos?

There is hardly any report about the person behind the stingray that was inked on Volkov’s back initially. But, the splendid samurai helmet on his back was inked by noted Russian artist Maxim Kislitsyn. Most followers might have already guessed that the inkwork must have taken more than one meeting to complete. Well, the completion of the eye-catching tattoo took two entire weeks and involved “55 hours of work.”

In his Instagram post, Kislitsyn also thanked Volkov for being an “incredibly resilient man”. Most fans would agree that Volkov has also proved Kislitsyn’s words to be true multiple times. But he has also admitted that he did have a hard time enduring the pain while getting the samurai helmet done.

Alexander Volkov recollects his experience of getting his tattoo done

The Moscow native gave out the entire story behind getting this inkwork done at the post-UFC 254 press conference. As already mentioned, Alexander Volkov showcased his tattoo to the UFC world for the first time when he entered the octagon against Walt Harris. After talking about his superb win, Volkov also addressed the experience of getting the samurai helmet inkwork on his back.

The Russian mentioned, “It was really painful, it was (expletive) painful. He did say, ‘You want to do this? You’re sure?’ And I said, ‘I’m sure. I don’t have time. I just need to go to camp for my first time.’ So he[Maxim Kislitsyn] said, ‘OK – two weeks.”

Alexander Volkov also described how the ending phase of the tattoo even had him “crying” in pain. Volkov stated, “I wanted to go to my next fight with a full-made tattoo. But it was a really hard challenge in my life. I don’t want to do tattoo more”.

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But he also gave a glimpse of the warrior inside himself when he talked about his motivation to get it completed despite the pain. In his improper English, Volkov revealed, “I like that everything is finished. For me, it’s bad to go to the fights and have a tattoo (not done). I just wanted to finish everything and go to the camp. So this says something about me and my mind”. Well, most fans would agree that it actually requires some true courage to get into the same thing once again that made someone cry in pain.

Do you think his inkwork will prove to be lucky once again, like UFC 254? Will he be able to get the better of his fellow Russian opponent, Sergei Pavlovich at UFC on ABC 6 in Saudi Arabia? Drop your comments below.