Aaron Bronsteter returns with his look around the Ultimate Fighting Championship where former Bellator heavyweight champion Alexander Volkov has put himself in the mix for a heavyweight title shot following a TKO win over Fabricio Werdum in London on Saturday.
Volkov victorious
Fabricio Werdum was by far the biggest test of Alexander Volkov’s young UFC career and he passed it with flying colours.
After two tough rounds to start the fight where Werdum was clearly the aggressor, Volkov maintained his composure en route to a fourth-round TKO victory when it appeared the former heavyweight champion Werdum had run out of gas.
Werdum told TSN in January that he had hoped to be the champion again by the end of 2018, a goal that is likely now out of reach.
As for Volkov, he now puts himself in position for a title shot alongside fellow heavyweight Curtis Blaydes should he be successful against Alistair Overeem in June.
The heavyweight championship is being contested in July when Stipe Miocic defends the title against light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier.
Volkov’s win and the ascension of Blaydes certainly refreshes the heavyweight division, which had seemingly had the same four fighters at the top of the division for several years, all of whom were in their mid-to-late-30s.
The former Bellator heavyweight champion Volkov is now 4-0 in the UFC and has won his last two by KO or TKO stoppage.
Dawodu loses in debut
Hakeem Dawodu, who many projected to be the best Canadian prospect in the UFC before his debut at UFC Fight Night in London, did not live up to expectations.
Dawodu lost in just 39 seconds against Scotland’s Danny Henry, who hurt Dawodu with a strike early and followed it up with a tight standing guillotine choke to earn the first-round victory.
It was Dawodu’s first career loss as he fell to 7-1-1.
The fight was one day shy of the one-year anniversary of his previous fight, a win over UFC veteran Steven Siler.
Dawodu had spent much of his training camp with Straight Blast Gym in Ireland, which is home to lightweight champion Conor McGregor.
Bonuses and Attendance
UFC Fight Night: Werdum vs. Volkov at the O2 Arena in London, England drew 16,274 attendees for a gate of $2.028 million (USD).
Performance of the Night bonuses were awarded to Paul Craig for his submission victory over Magomed Ankalaev, which occurred at 4:59 of the third round where he had decidedly lost all three rounds to that point. Volkov earned a bonus for his knockout win of Fabricio Werdum and Jan Blachowicz and Jimi Manuwa earned bonuses for their incredible co-main event fight that Blachowicz won by unanimous decision.
Each fighter earned an additional $50,000.
UFC announces a Fight Night event in Liverpool
The UFC is making their promotional debut in Liverpool, England in May, as the organization has moved an event originally schedule for Dublin, Ireland to Liverpool.
The destination can almost certainly be attributed to up-and-coming welterweight Darren Till, who will be headlining the event.
The UFC released this trailer featuring Till to confirm the rumour that had been reported by multiple sources earlier in the week.
It's happening! #UFCLiverpool goes down May 27! 🎟 on sale 4/13!