A possible heavyweight title eliminator between Jailton Almeida and Alexander Volkov at UFC 321 served as a pivotal fight for the future of the heavyweight division.
Almeida had come in on a two-fight win streak, while Volkov was looking to bounce back from a controversial loss to Ciryl Gane that many had seen going the other way.
Round 1 – Almeida shot the second after the two touched gloves, getting Volkov down 10 seconds in. Almeida settled in half guard and worked on just controlling Volkov while smothering him with his control. Volkov worked to his side and put Almeida on his hip, eventually overpowering and reversing position.
Almeida did a good job of holding Volkov and giving him little space to work. Volkov postured up and landed some big elbows while trying to pry Almeida off his leg, and the round ended in the awkward position.
Round 2 – The second round saw Volkov get taken down 20 seconds in, with Almeida settling in half guard and being more active on top. After a scramble, he worked to the back and secured a hook on Volkov, leaning over him as he crouched. Volkov was able to roll over and get back in full guard, where the action stalled once again, leading to a standup from Marc Goddard.
Almeida immediately speared Volkov back to the ground once forced up, and fended off a kimura attempt as the round came to a close.
Round 3 – Volkov pressed on the front foot and defended a takedown attempt early, pushing Almeida to the cage. In the clinch, Volkov bombed some knees into the body of Almeida before being taken down once again. The fight once again stalled in full guard, with Volkov tapping him with punches from the bottom. Volkov nearly caught Almeida in a triangle, but the Brazilian was wise to it and avoided the submission. Another back take led nowhere, and another stand-up followed after settling back in full guard. In a shocking turn of events. Almeida shot another takedown and ended the fight on top.
It was a strange fight to score. The damage and activity clearly favored Volkov, but Almeida racked up a lot of control time. The judges sided with the activity and awarded Alexander Volkov a Split Decision win to halt Jailton Almeida’s title hype.
Official Result: Alexander Volkov def. Jailton Almeida by Split Decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29)
