Fabricio Werdum will look to bounce back from a loss in March to Alexander Volkov when he headlines UFC Moscow.
The UFC’s debut in Russia appears to have its main event set. According to a MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani, the September Fight Night card in Moscow will be topped by former heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum facing fellow submission specialist Oleksiy Oliynyk (Aleksei Oleinik). Helwani let news of the UFC Moscow main event match-up slip during Monday’s MMA Hour. It’s a fight the Ukranian-Russian Oliynyk called for following his recent Ezekiel choke victory at UFC 224.
‘The Boa Constrictor’ has, over a two-decade career, become synonymous with the Ezekiel choke, a rarely seen submission in MMA. Rarely seen if you’re not Oliynyk (56–11–1), at least. The heavyweight has twelve finishes on his record thanks to the move, with two coming in the UFC. No other UFC fighter has even one. Aside from finishing Junior Albini at UFC 224 via Ezekiel choke, he also pulled one off on Viktor Pešta last year.
Fabricio Werdum (23–8–1), also an expert on the ground, was last seen being picked apart by another fighter out of Russia, Alexander Volkov. That bout, at UFC London in March, snapped a two-fight win streak for the former UFC heavyweight champion.
UFC Moscow (UFC Fight Night 136) takes place September 15 at the Olimpiyskiy Arena in Moscow, Russia.
