Daniil Donchenko says fans judge his work by how he fights, and he believes “highlights” are the fastest route to rising higher. Ahead of his Saturday bout against Berggren, he also contrasts preparation in Vegas with training at Tiger Muay Thai in Thailand, w
Daniil Donchenko frames it simply: his job is the reaction. Not the result alone, not the scoreboard alone — the way people respond when he steps in and pushes the fight.
“It’s my job and how I should know that I do my job (well) is the fans,” Donchenko said. “I can see their reaction: if they love it. they love how I fight. they wait for my fights. it means I do my job pretty good. That’s why it’s important to me is because I want to do my job really good. and I want to keep rising. going higher and higher.”.
He’s chasing momentum in the sport, and he’s blunt about the path. “Highlights is one of the ways I can go there faster, so I should create more highlights.”
Donchenko’s obsession with how a fight plays out doesn’t stop at personal ambition. He imagines the audience’s mood shifting fight by fight — and the matchmaker’s, too.
“If I will fight — not maybe with this opponent. because this opponent. I should beat him with one eye closed. ” Donchenko said. “But maybe if I fight with someone. top 15 or my level opponent. for me. I prefer to do Fight of the Year. take the bonus. but I will lose this fight more than I will fight. and people will ‘boo’ all of the fight. but the matchmaker will hate me.”.
In his view, there’s a trade-off between show-stopping risk and the clean satisfaction of a routine win. “So it goes: highlight reel win. Fight of the Night loss. and then everything else. ” he said. describing a ranking system where even a “tepid. uninspired victory” would sit at the bottom — standing against the way the emerging welterweight wants to fight.
That drive is already tied to his most recent camp. Donchenko said he trained for a full training camp at Tiger Muay Thai alongside headliner Rafael Fiziev.
Now, he wants to return to a style he describes as “vicious” and “menacing” on Saturday when he welcomes Berggren to the biggest stage in the sport.
“I feel much better with the weather, recovery, training,” Donchenko said. “I was there the past four years, and I know everything. I feel a really big difference when I prepare in Vegas than when I prepare in Thailand. I did more hard training in Thailand, and I feel fresher, so it’s good for me in Thailand.”.
Daniil Donchenko UFC Baku Berggren welterweight highlights Fight of the Year Tiger Muay Thai Rafael Fiziev