Heavyweight contenders Curtis Blaydes (13-2, 10 KOs) and Alexander Volkov (31-7, 20 KOs, 3 SUBs) will meet at UFC Fight Night: Blaydes vs. Volkov on Saturday, June 20,2020, at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The card airs live on ESPN+ starting at 9 pm ET.
UFC Odds at BookMaker.eu
Curtis Blaydes (13-2, 10 KOs)
Currently the No. 3 heavyweight on the roster, Blaydes is a guy that many have pegged as a future champion. “Razor” comes into the matchup on a three-fight win streak, most recently TKO’ing former champion Junior dos Santos this past January. While compiling an 8-2 record inside the octagon (with 1 NC), the 29-year old has earned high profile wins over the likes of Mark Hunt, Alexey Oleynik, and Alistair Overeem.
One fighter has been a constant thorn in Blaydes’ side: Francis Ngannou. The French knockout artist has twice TKO’d Blaydes - the first coming in the American’s UFC debut and the second in 2018. That last one had to hurt, as Blaydes would have likely gone onto fight for the title had he won.
Blaydes’ bread and butter is his wrestling, but he’s developed into a dangerous, powerful striker as well. A lot of that is just learning how to best throw combinations with his 6’4, 255-pound frame - but he’s a lethal ground and pounder as well.
Alexander Volkov (23-7, 9-6 UFC)
We weren’t really sure what to make of Volkov when he was signed to the UFC in 2017. Losses to Cheick Kongo and Tony Johnson in Bellator didn’t bode well for his prospects inside the octagon, but Volkov has proved everyone wrong with a 5-1 UFC record. His lone loss was a fluke too, as he was knocked out by a Derrick Lewis hail mary with just seconds left in a fight he was handily winning - 9 out of 10 times he wins that one.
This matchup is going to tell us a lot about Volkov - his biggest win inside the octagon came against an old Fabricio Werdum. Beating an elite contender like Blaydes would immediately insert Volkov into the title picture. He’s tall even for a heavyweight at 6’7”, and he’s no beanpole either. “Drago” moves well for his size, putting together a high-volume, long-range striking attack that can be difficult to penetrate.
Striking Stats
Strikes landed per minute: Blaydes 3.74 / Volkov 5.36
Striking accuracy: Blaydes 51% / Volkov 60%
Strikes absorbed per minute: Blaydes 1.86 / Volkov 2.48
Defense: Blaydes 57% / Volkov 58%
Grappling Stats
Takedown average: Blaydes 6.63 / Volkov 0.75
Takedown accuracy: Blaydes 55% / Volkov 75%
Takedowns defended: Blaydes 25% / Volkov 76%
Submission average: Blaydes 0.0 / Volkov 0.2
UFC Picks
Blaydes is the better athlete and the much better wrestler, and that’s enough for us to lay down a bet on his -260 money line. We’d also take a look at his prop bet to finish inside the distance, as Volkov is going to struggle mightily from the bottom and take a lot of damage on the bottom. With 25 potential minutes to work with, we see a finish coming from Blaydes, who has 10 TKOs in 13 career wins.
Live UFC Betting Picks
Keep an eye on the online sportsbook - if Blaydes struggles to land his takedowns early consider throwing down on Volkov to pull off the upset. On paper, Volkov is the more active striker and should be able to win a kickboxing match on points.
Card (Subject to Change) - ESPN+
Heavyweight - Curtis Blaydes -431 vs. Alexander Volkov +310
Women’s bantamweight - Marion Renau +124 vs. Raquel Pennington -155
Featherweight - Josh Emmett +115 vs. Shane Burgos -145
Women’s flyweight - Roxanne Modafferi -124 vs. Lauren Murphy +106
Welterweight - Lyman Good +100 vs. Belal Muhammad -130
Women’s flyweight - Gillian Robertson -125 vs. Cortney Casey -105
Women’s strawweight - Brianna Van Buren -218 vs. Tecia Torres +170
Middleweight - Marc-Andre Barriualt +103 vs. Oskar Piechota -133
Lightweight - Frank Camacho -104 vs. Matt Frevola -126
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