5 fighters to keep an eye on at UFC Fight Night: Alexander Volkov vs. Jairzinho Rozenstruik

#4. Alonzo Menifield – UFC light heavyweight contender

Can Alonzo Menifield's heavy-hitting style deliver him a big win this weekend?

On every UFC card, there seems to be at least one fighter who practically guarantees some fireworks; this weekend, that man is Alonzo Menifield. Put simply, there are few fighters on the roster who swing as hard as ‘Atomic’.

Of course, that approach hasn’t exactly paid off perfectly for the veteran of Dana White’s Contender Series just yet. He’s scored big knockouts of Vinicius Moreira and Paul Craig and was also able to defeat Fabio Cherant and Ed Herman, but his losses to Devin Clark and William Knight showed the flaws in his game.

Menifield’s heavy-swinging approach means that he often tends to get tired quickly in his bouts, rendering him vulnerable even against fighters who aren’t quite as explosive as him.

This weekend sees him faced with newcomer Askar Mozharov, a man equally adept at finishing his opponents. The Ukrainian has 21 victories, with just two of them going the distance, meaning that the likelihood of this one seeing the final buzzer seems low.

So can ‘Atomic’ switch up his approach to something more intelligent, meaning he can still land those concussive blows without tiring himself out in his attempts? If he can, he could still become a contender at 205lbs – making him a man to watch.

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#3. Alexander Volkov – UFC heavyweight contender

Alexander Volkov will need to be at his best to pick up a win this weekend

This weekend’s headline bout sees heavyweight contenders Alexander Volkov and Jairzinho Rozenstruik doing battle. With both men coming off losses, it’s a big fight from all perspectives.

However, while Rozenstruik definitely has his back to the wall somewhat, it’s ‘Drago’ who arguably has more to lose this weekend. The Russian has won just one of his last three fights, and while there was no shame in his defeat to Ciryl Gane, his loss to Tom Aspinall at UFC London was pretty devastating.

For now, Volkov remains in the outer reaches of heavyweight title contention, but how much longer he can stay there is a major question mark. After all, he’s 34 years old in October, and younger contenders are now pushing through.

Interestingly, though, there does appear to be a path to victory for ‘Drago’ this weekend. If he can ground Rozenstruik, then he can probably pull off a win, as ‘Bigi Boy’ looked utterly out of his depth on the ground with Curtis Blaydes in his last fight.

Does Volkov possess the wrestling to take Rozenstruik down? It’s possible, but he’ll have to fight a very different fight to the one he usually does. That begs the question – can an old dog ever learn new tricks?

If he can, he can win this fight, making him a very watchable fighter this weekend.