Alexander Volkov: A Heavyweight Enigma
Having won and defended the heavyweight straps in both Bellator and M-1 Global, Alexander ‘Drago’ Volkov is one of the most decorated heavyweights competing today.
Volkov entered the UFC late in 2016 with his debut against Timothy Johnson going to a controversial split decision in his favour. Johnson had the upper hand throughout the fight, though Volkov showed flashes of the brilliance we see more of today.
His UFC career since then has been much more impressive. The next step on his career path was a unanimous decision victory over Roy ‘Big Country’ Nelson, which saw Volkov winning most standing exchanges, though Nelson was able to control the contest while grounded.
This was the first time many western fans had taken notice of Volkov since he left Bellator two years prior and it was a fantastic demonstration of his skills in the cage.
His next two fights were further exhibition of his fighting chops – striking at range with the seven-foot tall Stefan Struve and even playing in the guard against two-time ADCC champ and two-time IBJJF champ Fabricio Werdum. Neither of these feats can be overstated.
The most recent blemish on ‘Drago’s’ record came via Derrick ‘The Black Beast’ Lewis, a man he was thoroughly beating until just 25 seconds before the final buzzer. Shortly before Volkov crossed the finish line to a certain decision win, Lewis seemed to decide that he wanted to win after all and landed a few haymakers in the final moments to send Volkov to the canvas.
After this loss, the Moscow native took just over a year to return to the Octagon, and put on another domineering performance against ex-NFL star Greg Hardy on Saturday night. Hardy came into the bout with a professional record of 5-1, 1 NC, with his sole loss a disqualification by way of an illegal knee to the dome of Allen Crowder.
Alexander Volkov vs Greg Hardy
When Volkov and Hardy clashed, the Russian walked down the tunnel a 3/10 favourite in the eyes of UK bookies, and left the cage looking worlds ahead of his opponent.
Hardy did well for a man in the eighth fight of his career however, showing incredible toughness while absorbing large amounts of strikes and continuing to walk forward. Nevertheless, it was not to be his night and he was constantly beaten to the punch by the far superior Volkov, who seemed unfazed by the American’s attempts to mount offence.
Volkov used his telegraph pole-esque jab to neutralise Hardy’s attacks, and coupled it nicely with left kicks to the legs, body and head. It was a cruise to victory, with the Russian striker never really seeming threatened by what Hardy had on offer.
What did we learn about Volkov?
“I cannot forecast to you the action of Russia,” Winston Churchill once famously uttered. “It is a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma; but perhaps there is a key.” The same can be said for Russia’s own Volkov, and, for the most part, Drago’s enigma remains unsolved.
The last man to beat him with strategy (sorry, Derrick) was Cheick Kongo back in mid-2015. Kongo spent much of the fight lying atop Volkov, grinding out a victory with brutal ground and pound assaults. Volkov had minor successes in the bout, particularly on the feet, though these weren’t anywhere near enough to score rounds in his favour. Perhaps the closest he came to winning this bout was an attempted kimura from bottom, where his long levers came into use.
Much of Volkov’s success can be attributed to his ability to fight effectively at a range that most others cannot. While Hardy had a marginally longer reach, being taller meant Volkov could use his at a longer range – given that his arms are on the same level as Hardy’s face.
Every time Hardy tried to move into range, he was halted from doing so by the swift lead hand of Volkov – and every time he tried to stay in kicking range, he was simply outclassed. One notable moment in the third round saw Volkov take his left leg out of the line of fire of a Hardy low kick and bring it upstairs to connect on his opponent’s temple.
Werdum tried to mirror this strategy against him to some degree. He spent a lot of time in guard, but the 6’7″ frame of Volkov was too long for any real offence to be mounted from this position. Volkov seemed to have evolved since the Kongo matchup, and in learning from those past mistakes, he has sealed off likely the biggest hole in his game.
We can’t attribute all of Volkov’s success to his height, though. It takes a huge skillset to use such an advantage with so few errors, and while fighting the seven-foot Stefan Struve he still took control of the outside.
Similarly, Werdum was at home fighting Travis Browne, who joins Volkov in the two-metre club. Werdum beat Browne on two occasions, both by unanimous decision, so it’s clear that Volkov has something that not all fighters of his stature have.
It’s also important to note his highly technical takedown defence. Despite a logistical disadvantage, Volkov is still fantastic at fishing for hooks and has a great knack for framing to create distance when in the clinch. One habit he could benefit from picking up here is spamming knees when in closer range. His instinct seems to be punches in the clinch and then adding in kicks on the break.
We saw in the Roy Nelson fight that often he won’t even throw when in a clinch, and will almost solely rely on fighting for position over damage. Taking time to work purely for position is fantastic, and something we don’t see enough of in the generally skill-lacking heavyweight division, but it must be said that there is stock in having your opponent fearful of what strike is coming next rather than just his own position.
What’s next for Volkov?
Alexander Volkov is one of the biggest threats at heavyweight. He’s shown himself capable of winning and retaining belts and might be just be one or two wins away from getting a shot at the UFC strap. There are a number of options that lay ahead of him, and shy of a title bout almost any matchup in the top 10 is possible.
His original opponent for yesterday was Junior Dos Santos, who for medical reasons had to step out of the bout. Dos Santos had contracted a staphylococcal infection in his leg, sharing pictures of the open wound on his social media pages. There is a good chance he might honour the previous agreement and take a fight against Dos Santos once the former-champ has recovered.
There are other options abound for him, too, with Francis Ngannou calling him out within moments of the fight ending. Ngannou has, unsurprisingly, been struggling to find a willing opponent as of late and is calling out any top ten he can find the Twitter handle of. The Cameroonian has gone on a tear through the heavyweight division, averaging just 6 minutes of fight time. Take out the two decision losses he’s had, and he averages almost exactly 3 minutes per win – not the kind of statistic that prospective opponents want to read, especially given the ungodly force with which he connects.
If Alexander Volkov were to take the Ngannou fight and can emerge victorious, that would certainly fast-track him towards the belt, though that would be a high-risk/high-reward game. Given his cautious nature in the cage, I’m uncertain that’s the path he’ll take.
Elsewhere in the division, Curtis Blaydes and Derrick Lewis seem to want to meet each other. Lewis was challenged by Blaydes in recent days and has said he gladly accepts the offer. Jairzinho Rozenstruik has landed in a fight with Alistair Overeem after Walt Harris had to sadly back out due to a personal situation. Surinamese Rozenstruik has surged into the division whilst also remaining practically unknown. With knockout wins over Andre Arlovski, Allen Crowder and Junior Albini, he’s shown he can land hard on bigger name opponents, but his first real test will be Overeem.
If ‘The Reem’ can put away this up-and-comer and come out without taking damage then a bout with Volkov would seem like the match to make. Alistair’s punching power with Alexander’s liking for a technical brawl would be a super interesting matchup. Overeem has had mixed results when fighting notably taller men with a first round TKO win vs. Struve and first round TKO loss to Browne. To some degree, the additional height of Struve may have played into his downfall, allowing Reem to duck under and get a takedown, whereas the slightly less tall Browne didn’t have this weakness and likely Volkov won’t either.
Whichever way his next opponent decides to try to crack the code of Alexander Volkov, it won’t be easy.