A new heavyweight title contender emerged in the UFC’s return to London, as Alexander Volkov put a stamp on his performance against former champion Fabricio Werdum with a stunning fourth-round knockout.
While Volkov has gone undefeated since joining the UFC roster, the Russian heavyweight was still a heavy underdog going against Werdum in a fight that would likely put the winner in an advantageous position in the title hunt.
Werdum definitely had his moments in the fight, but Volkov used his range and punching power all night long, battering the Brazilian’s eye and putting together a solid striking attack throughout the bout.
Finally, in the fourth round, Volkov lured Werdum into an exchange that led to the end of the fight. Volkov clipped Werdum with a solid shot that dropped the former champion to the mat and that’s all the Russian needed to follow him to the ground and deliver a series of blows until the referee saw enough to stop the contest.
When it was over, Volkov was standing tall as a potential challenger to heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic.
Of course, Volkov wasn’t favored going into the fight, with just 25 percent of fantasy players picking him to win, although 76 percent did predict him to win by knockout.
As much as Volkov was an underdog, Jan Blachowicz was in an even worse position according to the odds, but he earned his revenge with a three-round decision over heavy-handed British slugger Jimi Manuwa. Blachowicz used a well-timed jab to absolutely punish Manuwa over all three rounds as he picked up his third straight win.
Heading into the night, Blachowicz was selected by just 15 percent of fantasy players, compared to Manuwa with 85 percent. Those players who picked Blachowicz will certainly enjoy those points by the end of the contest.
While the underdogs ruled the main and co-main event, the favorites came through in the other two fights on the main card.
Tom Duquesnoy edged out Terrion Ware by decision with 81 percent of fantasy players picking the French fighter to get the win. Meanwhile, Leon Edwards earned a last second TKO against Peter Sobotta in front of his home country fans, with 75 percent of fantasy players correctly selecting him on the card.
On the preliminary portion of the show, Charles Byrd came through with a spectacular first-round rear naked choke to put away highly-touted up and comer John Phililps. Byrd was selected by 65p ercent of fantasy players, and those who picked him also enjoyed an extra 120 points because this was such a close matchup, as well as another 40 points because this was the American’s debut.
Danny Roberts scored a thunderous knockout against Oliver Enkamp in the first round, with 64 percent of fantasy players picking him to win. The players who picked Roberts also earned an extra 120 points because this was a close matchup going into the night.
With 59 percent of fantasy players selecting him, Danny Henry came through with a lightning-quick first-round submission win over debuting fighter Hakeem Dawodu.
Meanwhile, Paul Craig was down through two rounds but managed to pull off a last second triangle choke submission win against Magomed Akalaev with 60 percent of fantasy players picking the Scotsman to walk away victorious.
The first two fights of the night were also upsets, with Kajan Johnson getting his fourth win in a row via split decision over Stevie Ray with just 28 percent of fantasy players picking him. In the kickoff bout of the evening, Dmitry Sosnovskiy picked up a second-round rear naked choke win over local favorite Mark Godbeer with just 33 percent of fantasy players selecting him.
When it was all over, UFC Fight Night from London definitely had a mixed bag of results, with six favorites walking away victorious and four underdogs pulling off the upset according to the selections made by fantasy players.
