Curtis Blaydes grapples his way to a unanimous decision win over Alexander Volkov

The above video from the UFC’s Twitter account says it all. Curtis Blaydes was more than successful and imposing his will as he wrestled his way to victory over Alexander Volkov at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

The Chicagoan took Volkov down at will, scoring takedowns in each of the five rounds – 14 in all over 25 minutes, which set a UFC heavyweight record.

Blaydes’ energy did seem to wilt in the latter portion of the fight and the Russian did have some success in the fourth round in particular. As Blaydes shot in for another takedown, Volkov landed a lovely counter knee which appeared to have hurt his opponent. However, no. 3-ranked heavyweight Blaydes shut that down and grounded Volkov once again.

Some criticism could be levelled at Blaydes for not dishing out enough punishment while in dominant positions on the mat. Though his grappling control continues to impress.

Big win for Blaydes as he comfortably nestles in line for a UFC heavyweight title shot behind Francis Ngannou.

 

Josh Emmett bests Shane Burgos after three-round war

Josh Emmett had to overcome adversity to earn the nod from the cageside judges in a tough, gruelling three-round fight with Shane Burgos.

Emmett appeared to have injured his knee in the early going of the fight, but that didn’t stop him from being the aggressor.

His revered right hand found its target on multiple occasions but Burgos displayed a ridiculous level of durability to return fire in this memorable brawl.

It was a close fight and Burgos had his best success in the contest’s second stanza. However, Emmett managed to pull away from his opponent on the scorecards with a big third round.

The final five minutes saw Emmett floor Burgos twice with two short left hands to secure the decision win as 15 minutes elapsed.

Big win for Emmett, who now extends his winning run to three after snapping Burgos’ three-fight streak of victories.

 

UFC Fight Night: Blaydes vs. Volkov  full results

Heavyweight: Curtis Blaydes def. Alexander Volkov by unanimous decision after five rounds
Featherweight: Josh Emmett def. Shane Burgos by unanimous decision after three rounds
Women’s Bantamweight: Raquel Pennington def. Marion Reneau by unanimous decision after three rounds
Welterweight: Belal Muhammad def. Lyman Good by unanimous decision after three rounds
Catchweight (160 lb): Jim Miller def. Roosevelt Roberts by submission (armbar) at 2:25 of round one
Lightweight: Bobby Green def. Clay Guida by unanimous decision after three rounds
Women’s Strawweight: Tecia Torres def. Brianna Van Buren by unanimous decision after three rounds
Middleweight: Marc-André Barriault def. Oskar Piechota by TKO (punches) at 4:50 of round two
Women’s Flyweight: Gillian Robertson def. Cortney Casey by submission (rear-naked choke) at 4:32 of round three
Catchweight (158 lb): Justin Jaynes def. Frank Camacho by TKO (punches) at 0:41 of round one
Women’s Flyweight: Lauren Murphy def. Roxanne Modafferi by unanimous decision after three rounds
Lightweight: Austin Hubbard def. Max Rohskopf by TKO (retirement) in between the second and third rounds