Alexander Volkov had a tall order in front of him for his first UFC headliner.
The #3-ranked Russian contender has been a staple of the UFC heavyweight division for nearly a decade now, fighting all-comers from interim champion Tom Aspinall to Ciryl Gane twice.
Aspinall and Gane are the only fighters Volkov has lost to in his last 10 fights. Alexander Volkov holds an impressive record of 12-5 in the UFC and has won four out of his last five.
Volkov entered the UFC in 2016 and started his run off with four straight victories, two of which were main events for the 6’7″ heavyweight.
The division was put on high alert when ‘Drago’ crushed the tallest fighter in UFC history in less than a year after his UFC debut.
Alexander Volkov brought down ‘Skyscraper’ Stefan Struve in 2017
On Sep. 2, 2017, Volkov was matched up with the 7ft tall Stefan Struve in the main event of UFC Rotterdam. The fight would go down as the second-tallest fight in company history.
Faced with a 4.5 inch reach disadvantage, the 6’7″ Volkov had some trouble against Struve in the opening frame of their heavyweight fight. Struve had his moments in round 1 as he opened up a massive cut underneath Volkov’s eye with a knee.
Volkov immediately shot in for a takedown, making Struve pay with ground and pound strikes at the end of the round.
Volkov picked up more momentum in round 2, popping Struve’s head back with punches.
The Russian really turned up the heat in the third round as Volkov pushed Struve back to the cage with kicks to the body. Cornering his opponent, Volkov unloaded a swarm of strikes that sent Struve sliding down to the canvas.
Volkov picked up momentum in round 2, finding his shots.
Volkov pushed Struve to the cage with kicks to the body and unloaded a combination of strikes that sent Struve sliding down to the canvas for the TKO victory.
Alexander Volkov says his ‘time is running out’ to capture UFC title
At 36 years old, Volkov believes his championship window is closing for reasons outside of his control.
The heavyweight division has two champions in Jon Jones and Tom Aspinall, the interim titleholder. Jones hasn’t been all that interested in fighting Aspinall, opting to fight 42-year-old former champ Stipe Miocic instead at UFC 309 in November.
As Aspinall continues to wait on Jones, so does Volkov and the rest of the division.
“My chances to fight for the championship title are getting smaller, and time is running out,” Volkov said of the Jones vs. Aspinall delays in an interview with ChampionAT.
“In other weight classes, there is a real conveyor belt of fights. That’s why I am unhappy.
“I would have had a chance to test myself in a title fight a long time ago if it weren’t for Jon Jones,” Volkov added.
Volkov is coming off a controversial split decision loss to Ciryl Gane at UFC 310 in a fight many fans thought the Russian had won.