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What’s the story?
After a long while, the UFC fans in the UK will have a headlining UFC Fight night event on March 17 to be held at the O2 arena in London. Fight fans all around the world expected that Michael Bisping will draw curtains to his illustrious career in the main event. But in a tweet, the former champion has declined that he will be competing in London.
And now the main event has finally been decided and former heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum will face off against rising star Alexander Volkov in a five-round bout. The winner will move one step closer to a title shot.
In case you didn’t know…
There was much noise created when there were reports that Bisping will fight for one last time here at London and the fans were also waiting for their local boy and new UFC sensation Darren Till to also compete. But to fans dismay, both the fights couldn't materialize.
The heart of the matter
The main event which features Werdum and Volkov will be an interesting matchup as the heavyweight division is highly stacked up at the moment and a win for Werdum means he might get another shot at the title. In the co-main event, Jimi Manuwa will take on Jan Blachowicz in a rematch. The two last fought in April 2015 which Manuwa won by unanimous decision and it was an interesting fight. At the moment Manuwa is coming off a loss to Volkan Oezdemir, whereas Blachowicz is on a two-fight winning streak.
What’s next?
Werdum who is ranked 3rd in the division might get another opportunity for the undisputed belt. His contender Volkov is on a 3 win streak and would be looking to break into the top five. In the light heavyweight division, Manuwa who is ranked 4th would like to bounce back after his knockout loss against Volkan.
Author's take
Many fans are disappointed on not getting to watch Bisping compete in London. But, we have an exciting main event and co-main event which are sure to generate a lot of views and we might see future title contenders from the following events.
