The absolute fighting championship confirmed that the fight between heavyweights Alexander Volkov and Curtis Blades will lead the card of the UFC Fight Night 173 tournament, which will be held at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on the night of June 21 in Moscow. The press service of the promotion published the official poster of the event, which shows the participants in the main battle of the evening.
It is noteworthy that Volkov himself some time ago expressed confidence that his battle with the Blades would take place. And this is despite the fact that certain problems could arise with the flight to the USA. Indeed, until June 8, the borders of Russia were closed in connection with the coronavirus pandemic. However, the government’s order gave the athlete the opportunity to cross the border and did not leave any obstacles in the way of organizing a duel with the American.
According to the athlete himself, his flight to the United States is scheduled for June 12, which is why he is in a very difficult situation. He has about a week left to acclimatize and recover before the fight, which can hardly be called comfortable conditions. Usually, fighters arrive at the venue of the show two to three weeks before the fight, and some even spend the final stage of preparation there. In this regard, it will be extremely difficult for Volkov to approach a duel in optimal conditions, which somewhat reduces his chances of success.
And this despite the fact that the duel with the American is not only one of the most important, but threatens to become the most difficult in the career of a Russian. It's not just that Blades is third in the UFC heavyweight rating and has a series of three consecutive early wins. Among the representatives of the top 10 division, Curtis can be called one of the most uncomfortable opponents for Alexander, based on his fighting style.
It's no secret that Volkov often had problems with physically powerful wrestlers who were able to conduct takedowns and dominate the position from above. This was the reason for his defeats in the confrontations with Akhmed Sultanov and Maxim Grishin at the dawn of his career, as well as failures in the battles with Tony Johnson and Chake Congo. Vitaly Minakov also easily transferred Alexander to the stalls, although the success was brought to him by the most powerful right uppercut. In this regard, each passage in the legs performed by the American will be fraught with great danger to the Russian.
In this matter, Alexander’s situation is getting worse, because due to the coronavirus pandemic he actually couldn’t properly prepare for a specific enemy. Yes, the fight was known back in March, but the self-isolation regime deprived the athlete of the opportunity to conduct sparring, which plays a huge role in the context of the fight with the Blades.
Shamil Abdurakhimov, another Russian fighter, spoke about this in an interview with RT, who in September 2019 lost to Curtis in the second round. According to him, one of the main reasons for the fiasco was the lack of sparring partners that could fully imitate the American. After all, he not only possesses an excellent technical base both in percussion technique and in wrestling, but also stands out with his “physics”.
The day before the battle, the Blades stably weighs more than 112 kg, but subsequently often exceeds the category limit of 120 kg. To compete with such a massive rival is always difficult, especially if the match goes to the floor.
Unlike Abdurakhimov, Volkov spent most of his training at home and only recently returned to the hall. But even if he managed to maintain decent condition, then there is no need to talk about “sharpening” for a specific opponent. In this regard, Alexander can comprehend the fate of Tony Ferguson, who turned out to be unprepared for the battle with Justin Gatgi.
Do not forget that the UFC Apex arena in Las Vegas uses a reduced cell model. In this hall, the size of the octagon is reduced from 30 to 25 feet (from 9.144 meters to 7.62 meters), which also does not benefit the Russian citizen. It will be much easier for the Blades to get closer to Volkov, who prefers to work at a distance, and for Alexander, it will be much more difficult to defend against passes in the legs.
In a standard design, he could well apply the tactics of Alexander Gustafsson and escape from transfers to the ground with the help of short dashes, but in this case it will be much more difficult to do. Even if the American fails to conduct a takedown right away, he will have the opportunity to drag the enemy to the net and finish what he has already begun.
In this regard, Volkov’s refusal from the idea of holding a duel with the Blades in June could be very logical. He could have alluded to the unsatisfactory conditions of preparation and the inability to fully approach the upcoming duel. But taking into account the current situation, Alexander had practically no choice but to agree to face off with Curtis.
Over the past year and a half, Volkov spent only two fights and is on the seventh line in the heavy weight rating. Before the fight with Derrick Lewis, he was considered as one of the main contenders for the heavyweight title, but an insulting defeat and the subsequent long downtime seriously spoiled his reputation.
Given the UFC’s attitude toward refusal of fights, the desire to delay the battle with Blades could cost him dearly and expel trophies from applicants for a long time. Suffice it to recall Ferguson, in April 2019 who did not want to fight with Max Holloway for the temporary lightweight title. As a result, he was replaced by Dustin Porrier, and Tony never got the right to fight with Khabib Nurmagomedov.
In fact, Volkov was in a hopeless situation and was forced to agree to a duel with the Blades at the end of June. But although bookmakers consider Alexander a clear outsider, you should not write him off in advance. If he can keep his opponent at a distance and work as confidently as he did in the confrontation with Hardy, then he will have a chance. However, it must be understood that Curtis and Greg are athletes of different levels and it will be very difficult to repeat success.