UFC Fight Night results: Alexander Volkov stops Alistair Overeem; Cory Sandhagen takes KO of the Year lead
There’s a new threat to the UFC heavyweight division, and his name is Alexander Volkov.
The Russian striker scored the biggest win of his career in a dominant performance Saturday night that ended with a second-round knockout of Alistair Overeem.
Although Overeem has earned significant accolades for his kickboxing, Volkov put together a master class of striking as he steamrolled Overeem from the start of the fight.
Volkov used pressure early as Overeem went into a shell defense whenever his back was along the fence. Overeem’s strategy gave Volkov an opportunity to tee off on the former PRIDE and Strikeforce champion. The mounting pressure resulted in Overeem wearing significant damage after one round while being unable to do much but launch an occasional overhand left.
Volkov’s confidence grew in the second, but he remained poised and picked his spots. He stunned Overeem with his punches while keeping him off balance with the occasional leg kick.
Volkov sensed that the end was near after he hurt Overeem badly with a right hand down the middle. He patiently stabbed his opponent with hard rights and lefts. With Overeem reeling, Volkov wrapped a left hand around the guard and put Overeem on his hands and knees in the center of the Octagon. There was no reason for Volkov to pounce on his fallen opponent. The fight was called at 2:06 of Round 2.
The victory, Volkov’s second in a row, puts him in position to climb into the upper half of the heavyweight division. As for Overeem, he may have to take time to consider his future in MMA at age 40.
Cory Sandhagen scores Knockout of the Year front-runner vs. Frankie Edgar
What could Sandhagen do for an encore after a highlight-reel knockout of Marlon Moraes? One-up with a jumping knee KO of Edgar in the co-main event.
In a matter of seconds, Sandhagen scored the early front-runner for Knockout of the Year against the former lightweight champion and put himself in position to be next in line for the winner of the March featherweight title showdown between champion Petr Yan and challenger Aljamain Sterling.
Sandhagen has been spectacular since being dominated by Sterling last June. His spinning wheel kick finish of former title contender Moraes last October raised more than a few eyebrows. But his 28-second wreckage of Edgar has certainly put the entire MMA world on notice.
Edgar sought to use his wrestling to put Sandhagen on his back. Sensing that Edgar was going to shoot for a double-leg takedown, Sandhagen sprung to action and fired a jumping knee that knocked Edgar unconscious before he even hit the canvas.
The victory puts Sandhagen at 7-1 since his UFC debut in 2018. His current run shows that he’s ready for the winner of Yan-Sterling.
“I’m a different monster since I lost to Aljamain Sterling,” Sandhagen said. “He thought me some lessons. I know Yan has been talking about fighting TJ (Dillashaw) after that fight; that’s if he even wins that fight
“That’s garbage to me. Fight me. I’m the toughest guy next to Aljamain. And if Aljamain wins, I owe him a nap and he’s going to get that nap. The winner of those two gets knocked out by me in July.”
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