Lower In Rankings, Coming Off A Loss: Yet Another Mismatch In The UFC For Volkov

In August 2023, Alexander Volkov choked out Tai Tuivasa with a rare Ezekiel hold and went on a three-fight win streak. "Drago" was eager to return to the cage before the end of the year, but the promotion couldn't organize the fight for the Russian quickly. Only on March 26, 2024 it became known that Volkov would hold the next fight with the dangerous Brazilian Jailton Almeida. More details of the fight are in the Telecomasia.net article.

Alexander Volkov and Jailton Almeida fight will take place on the night of June 2 at UFC 302 at the Prudential Center in Newark (USA). The bout is planned to go three rounds. The main event of the tournament is to be revealed later.

Alexander Volkov is a 35-year-old Russian athlete with a background in karate. Recently, “Drago” has been training in the USA and has significantly improved his BJJ game, earning a black belt recently. Volkov is working on all aspects of MMA, but excels particularly in striking technique.

Alexander came to the UFC in 2017 as a former Bellator and M-1 champion. He is a heavyweight with a reputation. The Russian also had things going well in the world's best promotion: he had four wins in a row and came out for a challenger fight with Derrick Lewis at UFC 229 in October 2018. "Drago" battered the American for three rounds, but a split-second loss of concentration cost him a title shot.

After a tough setback, Volkov went on to lose several key fights - to Curtis Blaydes, Ciryl Gane, and Tom Aspinall. The once promising heavyweight turned into an elite gatekeeper, but after the decline in the level of opposition Alexander's career saw a renaissance.

After a one-sided loss to Aspinall in March 2022, Volkov wanted to get back in action as soon as possible. In June, "Drago" brutally beat Jairzinho Rozenstruik and finished him in the third minute. The Russian relaxed a bit and took a break until the following spring.

In March 2023, Volkov defeated Alexander Romanov without much trouble, defeating the base fighter early on the ground with a severe ground-and-pound.

At UFC 293, the Russian fighter ate Tai Tuivasa for breakfast (65 punches to the head) before mercifully choking out "Bam Bam" with an Ezekiel.

A 32-year-old Brazilian grappler with a black belt in BJJ. Almeida originally wanted to become a footballer, but his family didn't have the money to send the boy to a club academy. Jailton started boxing from the age of six, and BJJ from the age of 11. Later, the Brazilian came to MMA, and had his debut fight in September 2012.

From 2018 to 2021, Almeida racked up a streak of eight early wins, and he was noticed by the UFC. He choked out Nasrudin Nasrudinov at Dana White's Contender Series, and then received a contract with the league.

Initially, Almeida wanted to fight in the light heavyweight division, and even had one fight there. But then the Brazilian was offered to move up to heavyweight so he could compete more often. Jailton agreed, although he clearly wasn't big enough for it. But this did not bother the powerful Brazilian, as he continued to crush everyone in the heavyweight division.

Since May 2022 Almeida has won five fights in a row (four finishes). Only Derrick Lewis was able to get to the judges' decision, although the Brazilian was pushing for an early finish.

A series of successful victories instantly turned Almeida into one of the division's top prospects, and many were already seriously discussing his title prospects. The promotion also took notice of the Brazilian's accomplishments and gave him an elite-level opponent.

In March 2024 at UFC 299, Jailton was paired with another famous fighter, Curtis Blaydes (their fight had previously been canceled in November 2023 in Brazil). Fans were all wondering - could Almeida handle the 120-kilogram guy, the heavyweight record holder for takedowns in the UFC? The answer came in the first round: the Brazilian took the American down nine times! However, in the second round, Blaydes regained control and caught his opponent in a takedown, finishing the fight with devastating hammer fists.

It is incredibly difficult to name a favorite in this fight. Will Almeida be able to successfully grapple with Volkov, who constantly improves his ground game in the US? Recently, the Brazilian has not even attempted to strike but has gone straight for the takedown. In the fight, we expect the following sequence of events: Jailton will politely insist on the takedown, and Volkov will resist. As for the ground game, in his entire UFC career, Volkov has only lost by submission to Tom Aspinall (in 15 fights).

When it comes to striking, “Drago” is on another level. Almeida may have seven knockout wins, but they were all against mediocre opposition in regional promotions, with the exception of Danilo Marques in his debut. In the UFC, the Brazilian grappler does not rely on his striking and resorts to takedowns the first chance he gets.

In this fight, a lot depends on how Volkov can resist Almeida's takedown attempts. If Alexander does not let Almeida take him down, he will comfortably outstrike the Brazilian and may even finish him. It is not impossible for Jailton to dominate the Russian in all three rounds and win by decision. It is hard to believe in a finish from the Brazilian - Volkov is a very experienced fighter, and defeating him by submission is an extremely difficult task.

Unfortunately, UFC once again gives Volkov an opponent who is ranked lower. Winning his last three fights in a spectacular fashion, Alexander has proven that he is more than capable of competing at the championship level. A more interesting option for the Russian heavyweight could have been a rematch with Ciryl Gane, but for now, the promotion sees "Drago" as an examiner for up-and-coming fighters. Lately, the promotion has been quite restrained in acknowledging the successes of the Russian, almost as if becoming disappointed in him after losses in important fights.

For Almeida, this fight will be of paramount importance. Blaydes derailed the Brazilian hype train, and now he will have to once again prove his worth to the world. Or have the experts hastily included Jailton among the top heavyweights of the strongest promotion in the world? We will find out very soon.