MMA Weekly
UFC Vegas 18 results: Alexander Volkov gets knockout over Alistair Overeem
UFC Vegas 18 brought Alexander Volkov and Cory Sandhagen closer to contending for the title after each had won impressive victories on Saturday night in Las Vegas. Alexander Volkov makes a knockout statement about Alistair Overeem. Overeem started crouching in the main event of UFC Vegas 18, giving Volkov less than one target. The two danced for the first few minutes before Overeem hit Volkov with two strong left punches. Volkov was pressing forward at the start of the round, but Overeem’s third overhand slowed his momentum. Three minutes into the first round and Overeem advanced, hitting an uppercut and a body kick before Volkov abruptly dropped him on the screen. Overeem covered to withstand a few shots from Volkov, but the exchange sparked the Russian. Returning to his feet, Volkov stepped forward and hit Overeem with a hard shot that pushed him against the fence. Overeem danced away, but Volkov continued to press. He landed several punches in the final moments of the round, Overeem giving up the advantage he seemed to have at the beginning of the frame. Overeem started low again, but just over a minute after the start of the round, he ate several combinations of hard punches, Volkov bleeding and reeling. Two minutes into the round, Volkov landed a left hand on the temple that sent Overeem staggering to the mat. The referee immediately intervened to save Overeem from any further punishment. Shortly after the stoppage, Overeem was still on his knees on the screen. Volkov, in a tremendous show of respect, joined him, putting his arm around the man he had once considered an inspiration. It was the most impressive victory of Volkov’s career, after Walt Harris submitted at UFC 254 in October. Ranked 6th when he entered the fight, knocking out Overeem’s 5th heavyweight, Volkov put himself in a position to be just one or two wins away from a title shot, and he knows it. “It’s my turn,” said Volkov after the fight. “I want to fight for the belt for sure. But we will see, we will have some good fights in the future. We’ll see who’s on my plate. But I certainly want to try the title. ”UFC Vegas 18 results: Alexander Volkov TKOs Alistair Overeem Cory Sandhagen takes down Frankie Edgar with a flying knee The co-main event was one of the most anticipated fights on the card, but it only lasted 28 seconds. Fans expected a war between Cory Sandhagen and Frankie Edgar in a battle for a chance for the UFC bantamweight belt wrapped around Petr Yan’s waist. Yan is currently focused on Aljamain Sterling, who is his next defense, but he had better pay attention to Sandhagen, who knocked out Edgar with a flying knee before the fight really started. “I was excited to show my wrestling skills because everyone knows I suck at it, but I will accept that,” said Sandhagen after the fight. “I don’t want to see that happen to (Edgar), but he is better than me. This is our game.” Although Sandhagen has a loss to Sterling in his history, it is his only loss in his last 10 fights. He now believes he has the tools to get Yan or Sterling out. “I am a different monster than when I fought Aljamain Sterling. He taught me some lessons. I know Yan is talking about fighting TJ (Dillashaw) after this fight, if he wins this fight himself. This is rubbish for me,” he said. Sandhagen. “Fight me. I’m the next toughest guy next to Aljamain. If Aljamain wins, I owe him a nap. And he’ll take that nap. The winner of those two will be knocked out by me in July.” UFC Vegas 18 results: Cory Sandhagen knocks out Frankie Edgar Clay Guida wins Michael Johnson Neither Clay Guida nor Michael Johnson was close to a title shot with a win at UFC Vegas 18. Both were at the opposite end of the spectrum, fighting for survival in the UFC . It was Guida who gave a vintage show. The two came face to face in the three rounds, but it was Guida’s pressure and takedowns that separated them. Guida scored the fight with a takedown at the end of the third round, where he caught a rear naked choke. He failed to sink the submission, but dominated the final moments of the fight, ensuring victory by unanimous decision. The victory ended a two-fight skid for Guida, but put Johnson in a dangerous position as he lost his fourth consecutive fight. UFC Vegas 18 results: Decisions by Clay Guida Michael Johnson TRENDS> Watch Kamaru Usman ‘Fight of the Night’ KO by Colby Covington before UFC 258 UFC Vegas 18: Overeem vs. Volkov results UFC Vegas 18 Main Card Main Event – Heavyweight fight: Alexander Volkov def. Alistair Overeem by TKO (punches) at 2:06, R2Co-Main Event – Cock fight: Cory Sandhagen defeated Frankie Edgar by knockout (flying knee) at 0:28, R1 Light fight: Clay Guida defeated Michael Johnson via unanimous decision (30 – 27, 30-27, 30-27) Flyweight fight: Alexandre Pantoja defeated Manel Kape via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27) Light fight: Beneil Dariush defeated Diego Ferreira via split decision (28- 29, 29-28, 29-28) Light heavyweight fight: Danilo Marques defeated Mike Rodriguez via submission (rear naked choke) at 4:52, R2 UFC Vegas 18 Preliminaries Feather fight: Timur Valiev defeats Martin Day by unanimous decision (30 -25, 30-25, 30-26) Catchweight fight (160-lb): Devonte Smith defeated Justin Jaynes by technical knockout (doctor’s interruption) at 3:38, R2Women’s Bantamweight: Karol Rosa defeated Joselyne Edwards via unanimous decision (30 -27, 30-27, 30-27) Women’s Flyweight Fight: Lara Procopio defeated Molly McCann via unanimous decision (29-27, 29-28, 30-27) Featherweight Fight: Seungwoo Choi defeated You ssef Zalal via unanimous decision session (29-28, 29-28, 30-27) Featherweight: Ode Osbourne defeated Jerome Rivera by KO (punches) at 0:26, R1