Dana White has plans to determine who will be up next to face the winner of next month’s blockbuster showdown between reigning heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic and Daniel Cormier, and it features the two men with the longest active winning streaks in the heavyweight division: Curtis “Razor” Blaydes and Russia’s Alexander Volkov.
Brett Okamoto of ESPN reports that Dana White is interested in pairing the two heavyweights for UFC’s Moscow debut on September 15th:
One of the potentially overshadowed results of UFC 225 was heavyweight Curtis Blaydes (@RazorBlaydes265) knocking out Alistair Overeem. Per Dana White, UFC is interested in doing Blades vs. Alexander Volkov on 9/15 in Moscow. Both are very highly ranked in division.
— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) June 12, 2018
Prior to his bout with Alistair Overeem, one of the names Blaydes was interested in fighting was Volkov:
“There’s a few guys ahead of me that would make for a good, high-level fights. I like Alexander Volkov,” Blaydes said last December.
Of course, the operative phrase is “ahead of me,” which may no longer be the case following Blaydes crushing victory over Overeem this past Saturday at UFC 225. Volkov is currently ranked #3 in the heavyweight rankings while Blaydes sits at #4. Their positions in the ranking could change as early as tomorrow. Following the decisive win over Overeem, however, Blaydes has cited either a title shot or a rematch with Francis Ngannou as the only fights he is interested in now.
Curtis Blaydes has a record of 10-1(1 NC) with his sole loss coming by way of doctor’s stoppage. Volkov, a veteran in the sport with 36 total fights and a recorc of 30-6. Volkov is undefeated in the UFC and both fighters are red hot.
Blaydes has presented himself as a company man thus far and has not been one to turn down a challenge, so we will see if this fight remains on Dana White’s wish list or if the UFC’s Moscow debut will have a new heavyweight headliner.
Is this the fight to make? Or should one of these two men be granted a title shot next?
