LAS VEGAS — With UFC heavyweight contenders Alexander Volkov and Jairzinho Rozenstruik both looking to recover from recent losses, it was Russia’s “Drago” who was able to claim the victory.
The two met in Saturday’s headlining UFC Fight Night 207 event, which was broadcast live on ESPN+ from the UFC Apex.
The two engaged quickly at the start, trading low kicks at close range for the first few seconds. As the round progressed, however, it was Volkov (35-10 MMA, 9-4 UFC) who maintained his volume with punches and kicks from range while Rozenstruik (12-4 MMA, 6-4 UFC) was patient for one counterpossibility. When he did, he paid the price.
After Rozenstruik fell short with a barrage of powerful hooks, Volkov responded with a right hand that wobbled his opponent. While Rozenstruik returned to the cage, Volkov then reeled off a barrage of 11 unanswered punches. Although they didn’t all land cleanly, Rozenstruik took damage to the cage and when he went down to one knee referee Herb Dean swooped in to end the fight at the 2:12 mark of the opening round.
Rozenstruik protested the stoppage, but Volkov didn’t seem to slow down his attacks.
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“I’m just really happy to win,” Volkov said after the fight. “Now I’m waiting for the next fight. I’m ready for a challenge, ready for anything.”
Volkov, who entered the competition ranked 7th in the UFC heavyweight division, rebounded from a March loss to fast-rising challenger Tom Aspinall with the win. Meanwhile, Rozenstruik, who was No. 8, has suffered back-to-back losses for the first time in his MMA career.
UFC Fight Night 207 results include:
MAIN CARD (ESPN+)
- Alexander Volkov defeated. Jairzinho Rozenstruik via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 2:12
- Defeated Movsar Evloev. Dan Ige by unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 30-27)
- Lucas Almeida defeated. Michael Trizano via TKO (punches) – Round 3, 0:55
- Defeated Karine Silva. Poliana Botelho via submission (D’Arce Choke) – Round 1, 4:55
- Defeated Ode Osbourne. Zarrukh Adashev via KO (punches) – Round 1, 1:01
- Alonzo Menifield defeated. Askar Mozharov via TKO (elbow) – Round 1, 4:40
TEMPORARY MAP (ESPN+)
- Defeated Karolina Kowalkiewicz. Felice Herrig via Submission (Rear Naked Choke) – Round 2, 4:01
- Joe Solecki defeated. Alex Da Silva by majority vote (28-28, 28-27, 29-27)
- Defeated Damon Jackson. Daniel Argueta by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
- Benoît Saint-Denis defeated. Niklas Stolze via Submission (Rear Naked Choke) – Round 2, 1:32
- Defeated Tony Gravely. Johnny Munoz via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 1:08
- Jeff Molina defeated. Zhalgas Zhumagulov by split decision (28-28, 29-28, 30-27)
- Rinat Fachretdinov defeated. Andreas Michailidis by unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-27)
- Erin Blanchfield defeated. JJ Aldrich via Submission (Standing Guillotine Choke) – Round 2, 2:38