Preview: UFC Fight Night 221 ‘Yan vs. Dvalishvili’

Heavyweights

#14 HW | Alexander Romanov (16-1, 5-1 UFC) vs. #8 HW | Alexander Volkov (35-10, 9-4 UFC)

ODDS: Romanov (-150), Volkov (+130)

He is not going anywhere as a stalwart of the heavyweight division, but it is unclear exactly where Volkov stands at this point of his career. After a successful run in Bellator MMA, the Russian made it to the UFC in 2016 and immediately slotted himself at the fringes of contender status. “Drago” may not be an exciting knockout threat, but his 6-foot-7 frame creates problems for his opponents, all of it made worse by the fact that Volkov has historically been both durable and difficult to outwrestle. Volkov suffered a few setbacks after marching his way up the ladder—Derrick Lewis proved powerful enough to knock him out, and Curtis Blaydes is the best wrestler in the division, allowing both to be the exception that proves the rule when it comes to Volkov’s fallbacks—but with a February 2021 win over Alistair Overeem, the former Bellator champion had seemingly done enough to permanently right the ship. Then came a decision loss to Ciryl Gane in the first of three straight fights where Volkov did not look particularly impressive. A bounce-back win over Marcin Tybura was about as slow and uninspiring a victory as Volkov has ever put on, and it was a legitimate shock to see Tom Aspinall quickly take Volkov down and tap him out within a round. Still in his early 30s, Volkov figured to have another decade left as a relevant heavyweight fighter, but the Aspinall loss in particular raised some concerns that his prime could be coming to a sudden end. From there, Volkov ran through Jairzinho Rozenstruik, looking sharper and more aggressive than he has in years. It is hard to parse which Volkov will show up in 2023, but no matter the form, he gets a tough test here against Moldova’s Romanov.

Heading into the UFC, a look at Romanov’s record would have suggested he was simply feeding on the lowest levels of regional competition, but a look at the actual film revealed a prospect to watch. A striker who is shockingly agile for a man his size, “King Kong” showed a ton of potential as a relentless wrestler with the strength and cardio to throw around a vast swath of the UFC heavyweight division. That was true of Romanov’s rise through the UFC ranks—until he ran into Tybura in August. Between the elevation of Salt Lake City and facing the most capable defensive wrestler of his career, Romanov gave up the gains of his early success and then some, tiring badly before losing via decision. It is a bit surprising that Romanov gets a step up in competition despite the loss, and while he does not figure to gas quite as horribly as he did in August, this still seems like an uphill battle. The Aspinall fight aside, Volkov has typically been too sturdy and just plain gigantic for opponents to control if they can even take him down, and it is far from a guarantee that Romanov can even effectively close distance against a much taller opponent. The pick is Volkov via decision.

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Yan vs. Dvalishvili
Romanov vs. Volkov
Krylov vs. Spann
Ramos vs. Lingo
Nurmagomedov vs. Martinez
Petrino vs. Turkalj
The Prelims