At White's behest: what to expect from the fights of Volkov and Nurmagomedov at UFC 321

On October 25, the numbered UFC 321 tournament will take place in Abu Dhabi, where four Russians will fight at once. Special attention, of course, will be focused on Umar Nurmagomedov, who will face American Mario Bautista, and Alexander Volkov, who will fight Brazilian Jailton Almeida. For more information, see the Izvestia article.

Very, very dangerous

It is already a tradition to hold numbered UFC tournaments in Abu Dhabi in October. In 2020, Khabib Nurmagomedov defeated Justin Geiji, after which he announced his retirement, in 2021 Peter Yan killed Corey Sandhagen, in 2022 Islam Makhachev strangled Charles Oliveira and became the UFC champion, in 2023 Makhachev knocked out Alex Volkanovsky in a rematch, in 2024 Khamzat Chimaev brutally Robert Whittaker finished, and Elijah Topuria knocked out Max Holloway.

Russian fighter Khabib Nurmagomedov celebrates his victory over Justin Gatji in a bout for the lightweight title at the UFC 254 tournament, held on October 25, 2020 at the UFC Fight Island in Abu Dhabi.

Photo: Getty Images/ Handout/Handout

In the same year, the main match will bring together fighters who have nothing to do with the countries of the former Soviet Union — Tom Aspinall and Cyril Gan will fight for the UFC heavyweight title. But there are also interesting fights in the card with the participation of Russian fighters.

Without belts: what do Anklaev's defeat and Nurmagomedov's victory mean?

And why did two top fighters from Russia perform so differently this weekend?

Let's start with the duel between Alexander Volkov and Brazilian Jailton Almeida. Volkov has been competing in the UFC for 9 years, he was close to the title several times, but so far he has not reached it. In December last year, Volkov lost by split decision to Cyril Gan (this was their second fight, in the first Volkov also lost by decision). The verdict angered Volkov, MMA fans, and even UFC President Dana White. Immediately after the fight, White apologized to Volkov and said: "I do not know what we will do, but we will fix it."

However, Volkov was offered not a title shot, but a fight with Almeida, the sixth heavyweight ranking. They offered it back in the spring. At first, Volkov refused, but then, when he realized that there was nowhere else to go, that Cyril Gan would be the Aspinall champion's opponent, he agreed.

Alexander Volkov from Russia leaves the octagon after the heavyweight bout at the UFC 310 tournament at the T-Mobile Arena on December 7, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada

Photo: Getty Images/Chris Unger/Contributor

Volkov called Almeida a "slightly younger, but less striking version" of Fabricio Werdum, whom he defeated by technical knockout in 2018. And when asked what he sees as his advantages over Hamilton, he replied. "In everything, to be honest." However, the Brazilian is certainly very, very dangerous. Almeida started his career in 2012 at welterweight, but gradually gained muscle and moved from light heavyweight to heavyweight. Hamilton's fighting weight is 105-110 kg, meaning he is a small heavyweight, which does not prevent him from showing rare dominance in the stalls. He spent a total of 59 minutes in the UFC cage, 52 of them hitting his opponents in the stalls.

Of Almeida's rivals in the UFC, there has never been anyone he couldn't transfer. Yes, the Brazilian eventually lost to Curtis Blades — he got hit at the beginning of the second round, but he dragged the American across the floor all through the first round, and Blades is a very strong MMA wrestler. Almeida did not experience any problems in a duel with 120-kilogram Alexander Romanov, who regularly wins grappling tournaments, and previously participated in major freestyle wrestling competitions, including the World Championship. Almeida strangled Romanov in the middle of the second round. Sergei Spivak started the fight well with the Brazilian, took him down himself, but it all ended with Almeida climbing behind Spivak and winning by TKO.

Fighter Jailton Almeida from Brazil

Photo: Getty Images/ Jeff Bottari/Contributor

Hamilton's current UFC record is 8-1. 14-1 in rounds won, seven early wins on the ground, and he hasn't missed more than one punch in six fights. On paper, Almeida should have no problem bringing Volkov down as well. Another advantage for the Brazilian is that the fight will be 3—round, whereas Alexander feels good at long range, knows how to add from round to round. But Volkov also has his trump cards — a fighting IQ, very powerful legs, the ability to punch a block, and act in a variety of ways. Alexander can also show class on the ground floor, especially since he paid special attention to Brazilian jiu-jitsu in this training camp.

Light heavyweight case: Ankalaev does not intend to give a rematch to the formidable Pereira

Magomed is considered the favorite, Alex claims that he did not show even half of his potential in their first fight.

Waiting for the show

Another fight with the participation of the Russian fighter Umar Nurmagomedov will be against the American Mario Bautista. In January, Umar, Khabib Nurmagomedov's second cousin, fought for the UFC bantamweight title with Merab Dvalishvili, the champion. Umar won the first two rounds, but lost the remaining three, and Dvalishvili retained the title. At the same time, during the fight with Nurmagomedov, trouble happened — somewhere in the middle of the second round, he broke a finger on his right hand. According to Umar, this influenced the course of the fight.

Umar Nurmagomedov of Russia punches Merab Dvalishvili of Georgia in a fight for the UFC 311 Bantamweight championship at the Intuit Dome on January 18, 2025 in Inglewood, California

Photo: Getty Images/Harry How/Staff

Nurmagomedov expects that if he defeats Bautista, he will get a new title fight. At the UFC 321 press conference, he bluntly asked league president Dana White, "Will our fight with Mario be a contender?" White was not at a loss: "Roll up the show so that the fans would say, "Damn! One of these guys definitely deserves to fight for the title next!"

Bautista is 32 years old. He has been competing in the UFC since 2019, has had 12 fights - 10 wins, 2 losses, and is on an eight—win streak. The opponent is serious, but Umar Nurmagomedov, who has healed his arm injury, is still seen as the favorite. Khabib will be second to his second cousin. Also at UFC 321, Khabib will appear in the corner of another representative of the Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov Martial Arts School, Ikram Aliskerov, who is waiting for a fight with Korean Pak Chun Young. Azamat Murzakanov will also compete against Serbian Alexander Rakic at the tournament.