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#1 Alexander Volkov vs. Curtis Blaydes (Heavyweight)
It was the Curtis Blaydes show in the UFC on ESPN main event.
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Blaydes wasn't messing around as he landed the first takedown of the fight after twenty seconds. He dominated the first round after getting the hooks from the back. Curtis cracked Volkov with knees to the back, and the Russian had nowhere to go. Blaydes was putting on a wrestling clinic in the first round as he stayed busy with the knees and punches from the back. It was relentless pressure from Blaydes, and Volkov has no answer as he was trapped. That may have been a 10-8 for Blaydes.
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Blaydes came in hot with a flurry of strikes and Volkov wasn't expecting as he was more concerned about defending the takedowns. He landed with an overhead right, changed levels and took the fight back to the ground. The clock burnt as Blaydes controlled the fight in Volkov's guard. Blaydes landed a series of elbows that would have woken Drago up.
Alexander did a better job of defending the takedowns as he stuffed two attempts. However, Blaydes looked sharp on his feet too, and the jabs landed for him. Curtis had Volkov trapped against the cage for a majority of the round.
The fourth round, as you may have imagined, was like a carbon copy of the ones that preceded it. Blaydes landed his 12th takedown of the fight - a heavyweight record, and Volkov was just physically and mentally out of the contest at this point. The fight, somehow, shifted in Volkov's favor as they got to their feet and Volkov managed to stuff the takedown, hurt Blaydes with knees as he landed a takedown himself.
Blades looked laboured in the championship round. Volkov connected with a big kick as Blaydes came in. The clock was against Volkov, and Curtis waited for his chance to shoot for the takedown. Blaydes had an unofficial count of 24 takedown attempts, which was ridiculous. Blaydes was tired, but he still managed to score a few more takedowns before seeing it through until the end.
Wrestling trumped striking in this one. Blaydes also broke the single-fight heavyweight record by completing 14 takedowns. Monstrous!
Result: Curtis Blaydes def. Alexander Volkov via unanimous decision (49-46,48-47, 48-46)
