This past Saturday in the co-main event of UFC Las Vegas, we saw a heavyweight showcase. Top contenders battled it out as “Drago” Alexander Volkov (36-10) took on Alexandr Romanov (16-2). This was a massive fight for both contenders.
For Romanov, he could’ve easily been walking into UFC Las Vegas with an 0 and 1 draw. In his last bout, he took on Marcin Tybura and completely dominated Tybura in the first round. Virtually everyone outside of two judges saw that as a 10-8 round. He gassed out afterwards and lost the next two rounds.
That earned him a split decision loss, but many hadn’t felt that he truly lost. Alexander Volkov was entering the bout off a very impressive first round knockout win over Jairzinho Rozenstruik. He was looking to show that he’s still one of the best heavyweight contenders in the world.
Despite the two men being evenly matched on paper, this didn’t look like a fight featuring two evenly matched contenders. Volkov marched Romanov down in the first round and hurt him bad on the feet. After a sloppy takedown attempt, Volkov got to the back mount and rained down punches until he earned the TKO win at UFC Las Vegas.
What’s next after UFC Las Vegas?
This was a statement win for Volkov just like his last fight. Two straight first round finishes has him right back in business in the heavyweight division. Volkov is now 10-4 inside the octagon. His losses have come against Derrick Lewis, Curtis Blaydes, Ciryl Gane, and Tom Aspinall.
Not bad competition to lose to. Had he held on to defeat Lewis after dominating their fight, he likely would’ve had a UFC title shot. However, he got knocked out in the final twenty seconds of that one. That said, with these back-to-back wins, he’s right back near the top of the division.
So, who should he take on next? In looking at the rankings, there are a couple of fights that jump out to me. The first would be a bout with Serghei Spivak who is rising up the ranks with his current winning streak. Not the sexiest fight, but a fight that makes a ton of sense.
If you want something a little more entertaining, perhaps a bout with him and Tai Tuivasa makes sense. Tuivasa has lost two fights in a row but he’s still ranked fifth in the division and he always brings a lot of attention to his fights. I think a lot of people would love to see Drago take on Bam Bam.