This past weekend in the main event of UFC London, we saw a clash in the heavyweight division. England’s Tom Aspinall (12-2) was looking for the biggest win of his career when he took on the tough Alexander Volkov (34-10).
Volkov was looking to get his second straight win while Aspinall was looking to stay perfect in the UFC. This was the biggest test in the career of Tom Aspinall and we were going to learn a lot about the heavyweight contender in that matchup.
Well, we learned that he’s just as good as everyone thinks and says he is. Immediately when the UFC London main event started, we saw Aspinall’s speed bother Volkov. Now, Volkov did have moments where he landed some of his solid rangey strikes.
However, those strikes were few and far between. Aspinall mixed in some beautiful takedowns to get Volkov down to the ground. Once there, the fight was completely one-sided. Aspinall brutalized and bloodied Volkov before submitting him with a straight armlock.
What’s next after UFC London?
After this latest loss, Volkov is now just 4-4 in his last eight UFC fights. Granted, all four of the losses have come against top competition. The losses have come against the likes of Derrick Lewis, Curtis Blaydes, Ciryl Gane, and now Tom Aspinall.
Four guys who make up the top five or six in the UFC’s heavyweight division. Anyone else that’s been put in front of Volkov has fallen inside the octagon. Outside of those four men, Volkov is 8-0 inside the octagon.
So, with this latest loss at UFC London, what’s next for Volkov. Well, I think it’s the perfect time to run one of those losses back. The loss I’m referring to is the loss that came against Derrick Lewis.
Like Volkov, Lewis is coming off of a loss in his latest bout. Volkov was winning their first fight handily before a late rally KO from Lewis. I think it’s a great fight and it makes sense given the landscape of the UFC’s heavyweight division currently.