Alexander Volkov is a Russian mixed martial artist who competes in the heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He has been a professional MMA fighter since 2009 and has previously fought for M-1 Global and Bellator MMA. He was the heavyweight champion in both promotions. Currently, he is ranked #8 in the UFC heavyweight rankings.
Alexander Volkov defeated Alexander Romanov at UFC Fight Night: Yan vs. Dvalishvili via first-round TKO.
Alexander Volkov joined the M-1 Global in 2008 and made his professional MMA debut in April 2009, winning by TKO against Nikolay Pleshakov in just 80 seconds. He then won his next fight a month later, but suffered his first loss in his third fight to Akhmed Sultanov via armbar submission. Volkov then went on a two-fight win streak, both by TKO. In December 2009, he faced Ibragim Magomedov at M-1 Challenge 20 and won by unanimous decision, earning an M-1 Global ring for his exceptional performance.
In 2016, Volkov faced Denis Smoldarev at M-1 Challenge 64 for the vacant M-1 Global Heavyweight title and won by submission via triangle choke. He also fought former Bellator light heavyweight champion Attila Végh on June 16, 2016, at M-1 Challenge 68 and won by knockout in the first round. Fans can watch all of Volkov's fights in the M-1 Global league on the M-1 Global TV channel.
Alexander Volkov joined Bellator Fighting Championships in September 2012 and made his U.S. debut in the Bellator season seven heavyweight tournament. He defeated Brett Rogers in the opening quarter-final round via unanimous decision and Vinicius Queiroz in the semifinals via TKO in the second round. In December 2012, he won the Bellator Season 7 Heavyweight Tournament Final and Bellator Heavyweight Championship by defeating Richard Hale via unanimous decision.
In his first title defense, Volkov faced Vitaly Minakov at Bellator 108 in November 2013 but lost the bout and his title via TKO in the first round. He bounced back with a TKO victory over Mark Holata at Bellator 111 in March 2014 and a spectacular knockout win over Mighty Mo in the semifinals of the Heavyweight Tournament at Bellator 116 in April 2014. Volkov went on to defeat Blagoy Ivanov in the finals of the tournament via submission in the second round at Bellator 120 in May 2014.
Volkov faced Tony Johnson at Bellator 136 in April 2015, where he lost via split decision. He then faced Cheick Kongo at Bellator 139 in June 2015, but lost the fight via unanimous decision. Following his second consecutive loss, Volkov’s contract was cut by Bellator MMA.
In 2016, Volkov signed with the UFC and made his debut against Timothy Johnson at UFC Fight Night 99, winning via a controversial split decision. He then went on to defeat Roy Nelson, Stefan Struve, and Fabrício Werdum, earning his first Fight of the Night and Performance of the Night bonuses in the process.
In 2018, Volkov suffered his first UFC loss against Derrick Lewis, despite dominating the fight. He then pulled out of a scheduled bout against Alistair Overeem and defeated Greg Hardy instead. Volkov went on to lose to Curtis Blaydes but rebounded with a win over Walt Harris.
In 2021, Volkov earned his second Performance of the Night bonus with a victory over Alistair Overeem but lost to Ciryl Gane in June. He then defeated Marcin Tybura before suffering a submission loss to Tom Aspinall in March 2022.
Volkov's won his most recent fight against Alexander Romanov at UFC Fight Night 221, which took place on 11th March 2023.
Alexander Volkov and Ciryl Gane went to war on June 26, 2021, in a main event Heavyweight clash from inside UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada at UFC Vegas 30. However, Ciryl Gane defeated Alexander Volkov via unanimous decision (50-45, 50-45, 49-46). Gane kept his undefeated record alive with this dominant win.
Alexander Volkov vs Marcin Tybura was a heavyweight bout that took place at UFC 267 on October 30, 2021. Volkov won by unanimous decision after three rounds, snapping Tybura’s five-fight win streak. Volkov was ranked No. 5 and Tybura was ranked No. 8 in the heavyweight division before the fight.
He competes in the Heavyweight division.
His nickname is "Drago".
Volkov holds an MMA record of 36-10-0.
Last Updated On 12th March, 2023
