In the main event of UFC Vegas 18 Alexander Volkov and Alistair Overeem exchanged heavy blows inside the APEX premises. However, halfway through Volkov’s second shot was too much for Reem to take.
Throughout the fight, Volkov hit the Dutch with foot punches, including uppercuts that they cut and behind his opponent’s guard. In the middle of the second round, the Russian managed to overthrow Overeem with a left hook, which forced the referee to intervene and end the dispute.
At his post-fight press conference, ‘Drago’ spoke about the fight and how he secured the victory.
“He punched me very hard and touched me with a few punches,” said Volkov (ht MMA Fighting) “But I focused on my target and did what I wanted to do. The difficult thing is that he blocked all my kicks. But he might not have thought about my punches, and I could hit punches and jabs in his face. “
Since starting his UFC tenure with four straight wins, the former Bellator heavyweight champion has been somewhat inconsistent within the octagon. His first UFC loss was to Derrick Lewis (by knockout) at UFC 229 in 2018. After that, he defeated Greg Hardy and lost on the decision to Curtis Blaydes.
In the fight before defeating Overeem, Volkov returned to winning ways with a TKO victory over Walter Harris.
With the victory, Volkov can expect to overtake Overeem in the heavyweight rankings for at least fifth place. In front of him are the two who beat him in the UFC, as well as Jairzinho Rozenstruik, title challenger Francis Ngannou and champion Stipe Miocic.
Blaydes and Lewis teamed up for February 20 and Rozenstruik is set to face Ciryl Gane (the fighter directly below Volkov in the ranking) on February 27. Miocic vs. Ngannou 2 falls on March 3.
On March 4 there should be a clear picture of the next title fight in the heavyweight division. Volkov probably needs another victory before he gets into that picture and that is exactly what he expects.
Choosing not to celebrate the victory over Overeem much, said Volkov; “I try to be a champion. I will focus on the next camp [and] the next fight. “