Russian mixed-style fighter Alexander Volkov will fight Curtis Blades at the UFC Fight Night 177 tournament in Canada, which is scheduled for June 20, 2020. Several media outlets wrote about this on Friday, March 6, with reference to their sources. After that, the official Twitter of the Canadian unit of the Absolute Fighting Championship announced that the fight of the Russian and American heavyweights will lead the card of the event, which will be held for the first time in five years in the city of Saskatoon.
🚨 IT'S OFFICIAL 🚨 @ RazorBlaydes265 & @AlexDragoVolkov will headline #UFCSaskatoon !!
Register for 🎟➡️ https://t.co/qAiu1Wxx27pic.twitter.com/xLpJdKFmCH
Thus, the long search for an opponent for Volkov ended. According to the Russian himself, several top opponents refused to meet with him in turn, which in the current situation can hardly be called surprising. And the matter is not in the strength of the Russian, but in a busy schedule. Many of the top ten representatives either recently won and were not interested in a duel with the seventh ranking number, or suffered a severe defeat and were going to restore health. At the same time, a battle with an athlete from the top ten would hardly have been beneficial to Alexander himself, due to which the negotiation process was delayed.
Volkov even took desperate measures and began to search for the enemy through social networks. At first, he repeatedly stated difficulties in the negotiations, and then challenged Curtis Blades and Daniel Cormier. But if the ex-champion continued to wait for a revenge with Stipe Miocic, the third rating number unexpectedly agreed. And this despite the fact that some time ago he said that the fight with the Russian does not cause him interest, and his goal is to quickly obtain the status of the first applicant.
The question is what exactly made Blades change his attitude towards the fight with Volkov. Perhaps the leadership of the UFC made it clear that he would not be able to get a fight in the belt before Miocic and Cormier complete their trilogy. In this case, Curtis would certainly have to enter the octagon at least once more to confirm his champion ambitions. At the same time, his counterpart could not be Drago, but the winner of the duel between Francis Ngannu and Jairzinho Rosenstrike. Given the fact that the American has twice conceded to Cameroon, and a native of Suriname is considered one of the brightest knockouts in the world, a meeting with a Russian is a logical choice.
Apparently, Blades hopes that victory over Volkov will be enough to become the first contender for the title. And this despite the fact that at the moment he is below Ngannu in the ranking. Nevertheless, the American has a slight advantage over Francis, who previously had the opportunity to argue for the belt. In January 2018, he could not oppose anything to Miocic, so the matchmakers can provide Curtis with a chance. And if Rosenstrake succeeds, the questions will disappear by themselves.
As for Volkov, then for him this fight can be regarded in different ways. Firstly, he got a chance to prove that he belongs to the heavy weight elite and again come closer to the status of the first applicant. Secondly, he got an opponent above himself in the ranking, which fully fit into his plans. But at the same time, he got a fighter who is the least suitable for him stylistically, which will make the fight with him one of the most difficult in Alexander’s career.
Blades is one of the main heavyweight experts in wrestling, and it is this type of martial arts that is still considered to be Volkov’s Achilles heel. Almost all the defeats in his career have caused gaps in this aspect. It is enough to recall his failures in the battles with Cheyk Congo, Tony Johnson, Pat Bennett, Maxim Grishin and Akhmed Sultanov. Against the background of this defeat in duels with Derrick Lewis and Vitaly Minakov, they seem something out of the ordinary.
Of course, Volkov will have an advantage in the stance due to his anthropometry and advanced shock technology, but when transferred to the ground, it can become easy prey for the Blades. There is no doubt that the American will attempt to takedown. If in the battle with Junior Dos Santos he could afford to exchange, as he exceeded the Brazilian in the length of his hands, this time he would be more comfortable looking for happiness in the stalls.
In this regard, the choice of Blades as an opponent can be called if not reckless, then at least bold. At this stage of Volkov’s career, a meeting with any of the Dos Santos - Overeem - Lewis trio would be much more convenient. But the first two lick their wounds after heavy defeats, and the third only a month ago fought with Blagoy Ivanov.
According to the American portal MMA Junkie, since the battle between Volkov and Blades will become the main one at the tournament in Saskatoon, it will be designed for five rounds. However, Canadian fans of mixed martial arts should not count on the fact that the fighters will fight for all 25 minutes. Three of the last five fights involving Alexander ended ahead of schedule, and the Blades did not wait until the judges decided.
It is worth noting that the Russian is not the first time to head the tournaments of major American promotions. In the UFC, he already fought twice in the main duel of the show and both times prevailed. In September 2017, he knocked out Dutchman Stefan Struve in his homeland, and in March 2018 he beat Brazilian Fabrice Verdum in London. As for Bellator, then on his account one victory and one defeat. In December 2012, he prevailed over Richard Hale, and in June 2015 he lost to Congo.
The tournament in Canada will be the third in 2020, at the head of which will be one of the Russian athletes. On April 19, Khabib Nurmagomedov will become the headliner of UFC 249, and on June 13, Peter Yan will head the UFC show in Kazakhstan. Perhaps Alexander was even more fortunate than the representative of the lightest weight, because he will have the opportunity to shine before the eyes of the North American public and win the local audience.
Undoubtedly, Volkov's prospects so far seem rather vague, but the Blades are not an invincible fighter. Previously, he twice lost ahead of Ngannu twice, and missed strikes from the Predator could not pass without a trace. The Russian is superior to the American in the rack and in case of a good hit is able to send him to the floor. It is advisable to do this quickly, because during the fight Curtis will have more and more chances to drag the enemy into the fight. And if Drago misses the takedown, then with a high degree of probability he will not be able to return to the upright position and will compose Alexey Oleinik and Shamil Abdurahimov as “victims” of the Razor.