Alexander Volkov said he knew he was beating Alistair Overeem when he saw him choking on his own blood

• Alexander Volkov said he saw Alistair Overeem choke on his blood in their fight Saturday.
• "I heard that it was hard for him to take a breath," Volkov said after bludgeoning Overeem.
• Victory sees the Russian heavyweight edge closer toward a UFC title shot.

Alexander Volkov said he knew he was beating Alistair Overeem when he noticed him choking on his own blood during Saturday's UFC event in Las Vegas.

"I heard that it was hard for him to take a breath," the UFC heavyweight contender told the Russian publication Sport24 after he bludgeoned Overeem in the second round.

"In the end, it turned out [that I was able to] smash his face so that he choked on the blood," Volkov said, in quotes translated by RT.com.

Overeem called Volkov a true warrior after the fight and said it wasn't his night. "I could not recover from that punch in the first round after I broke my nose."

In the interview translated by RT, Volkov added: "I don't know if this can be seen in the video, but I felt like he was constantly trying to either sniff his nose or something else.

"I heard that it was hard for him to take a breath … Alistair didn't calculate that I would hit with my hands so hard and sharply, breaking through his defense.

"I understood that the less I give him the opportunity to move and think, the easier it would be, so I tried to constantly throw punches," Volkov said.

"This led to the result."

Victory advanced Volkov's pro MMA record to 33 wins (22 knockouts, three submissions, and eight decisions) against eight losses, and edges him closer to a UFC title shot.

Stipe Miocic is the current UFC heavyweight champion but defends his belt March 27 against Francis Ngannou in a rematch. Should Miocic lose, a trilogy bout would likely be called.

The former light heavyweight ruler Jon Jones is also in the mix, waiting to challenge for the heavyweight belt.

Volkov may therefore need to fight at least one more time before he gets a title shot.