Stagnation in the division and fear of Drago: why the UFC cannot find an opponent for Volkov

Russian fighter Alexander Volkov continues to search for an opponent for the next fight in the UFC. Currently, the athlete is training in Thailand and hopes to soon find out the name of the new counterpart.

“I feel that the month of training in Thailand has benefited me. They thoroughly worked out shock equipment and special endurance. I’m waiting for a rival from the UFC, now I am ready for any challenge, ”Volkov wrote on his Instagram page.

At the same time, the manager of the athlete Ivan Bannikov said earlier that the situation with the search for the opponent is rather complicated. According to him, so far no one has agreed to fight with Volkov.

“At first we were given one opponent, but he refused. Everyone refuses and fears Alexander, ”TASS quoted Bannikov as saying.

The last time a Russian athlete entered the octagon in November at the UFC Fight Night tournament. In Moscow, he interrupted a 13-month period of inactivity and confidently dealt with Greg Hardy. Then many were surprised by the fact that Volkov looked too pragmatic and did not force events, but this can be attributed to a prolonged lack of practice and fear of missing a powerful blow. This is exactly what happened to him in a duel with Derrick Lewis, the failure of which cost him not only the first defeat under the auspices of the Absolute Fighting Championship, but also the fight for the title with Daniel Cormier.

It is worth recalling that the problems with the selection of opponents began before the tournament in Moscow. Initially, Volkov was supposed to fight with ex-UFC champion Junior Dos Santos, but he was forced to withdraw due to infection. Because of this, instead of an opponent from the top 5, Alexander was forced to be content with the well-known but still yesterday debutant promoted in the person of Hardy. It was the Brazilian's injury that confused the Russians with all the cards and led to a difficult situation.

Yes, Volkov won the home tournament and started a new successful series in the UFC, but was in an intermediate position between the main contenders for the title and those who are just starting their campaign for the championship title. Thus, the top athletes are not very interested in a duel with Alexander, and a meeting with less status fighters does not attract him.

At the moment, Volkov takes seventh place in the UFC rating and, for sure, wants to fight with those who are above him. But here there are several snags at once, one of which lies in the title duel between Miocic and Cormier. In August, the fighters took revenge, Stipe got the upper hand, and promotion president Dana White hastened to announce plans to complete the trilogy. Five months have passed since then, but the battle was never announced.

It is believed that the third match between Miocic and Cormier is likely to take place no earlier than June 2020. At the moment, announced the dates of the three UFC numbered tournaments, but none of them are suitable for such a status battle. There is too little time left for the March show, and in April Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson will enter the octagon. There is no reason for the promotion management to arrange two such fights at the same event, if it is possible to separate them and get double profit.

Of course, one could assume that Miocic and Cormier will fight in May, but the tournament should be held in Brazil. Matchmakers traditionally put one of the local fighters in the main match, which excludes the possibility of a battle on the UFC 250 show. Therefore, fans of athletes will have to wait at least until the first month of summer to see the next chapter of one of the main confrontations in the history of heavy weight.

However, not only the fans are in an unenviable position, but also the fighters of the division, which became stagnant due to the inaction of the two main stars.

At the moment, in the category there is as never before a large number of worthy candidates for champions, now deserving the right to compete for the belt. These include Francis Nganna and Curtis Blades, who have a series of three victories in their assets. Moreover, Cameroonian will soon be able to win a fourth if it copes with a bright puncher Jairzinho Rosenstrike.

One of the two athletes mentioned above could become Volkov’s opponent, but they are unlikely to want to risk their status for the sake of meeting with the Russian. By and large, a victory does not improve their position in the division, while a defeat can seriously hit the prospects and drop it into the ranking tables. Given the fact that Alexander is more than dangerous vis-a-vis, such a decision can be considered justified.

As a result, from the first six there are only two possible opponents. The first of these is Dos Santos. But the Brazilian only one and a half weeks ago suffered a severe defeat from the Blades, because of which the battle with him significantly lost in attractiveness. In the context of the campaign for the title, Volkov is unlikely to greatly help success in the battle with a fighter who has a series of two failures in the passive. In addition, Junior has a long recovery period.

The sixth number of the Lewis rating is preparing for a duel with Ilir Latifi, scheduled for February 9. Given that the breaks between Derrick’s performances are usually 3-5 months, Volkov will have to wait at least until May, which is unlikely to suit him. And this taking into account the fact that the American is not eager to fight again with the Russian, who dominated him for three rounds.

Volkov is left to look for an opponent among the second half of the top 15, but everything is quite complicated there. So, Shamil Abdurakhimov, Augusto Sakai, Blagoy Ivanov and Cyril Gan are scheduled to fight each other, which excludes them from the possible number of opponents, and a purely Russian confrontation with Sergey Pavlovich or Alexei Oleinik is hardly needed for fighters.

Therefore, only Alistair Overeem and Walt Harris remain. But the Dutchman was recently beaten by Rosenstrike and is unlikely to decide to return within the next two months, and the American continues to mourn the deceased adopted daughter. 19-year-old Alana Blinchard was abducted at the end of October, and a month later they discovered her corpse. It is noted that the cause of death was gunshot wounds.

Thus, Volkov was in a difficult situation, a clear way out of which does not yet exist. Apparently, the most likely development of events is his revenge with Lewis, if he can get the better of the debutant of the heavy division Latifi. It should not be ruled out that Blades will nevertheless change his position and agree to fight with the seventh category number, but so far he has been very categorical. Curtis said earlier that he was considering the fight either for the title or for the status of the first challenger.

In this case, Volkov will either have to wait too long, or agree to meet with a compatriot. At the same time, a victory over Oleinik or Pavlovich is unlikely to greatly raise his status. At the moment, they occupy 12th and 14th places in the ranking, respectively.