Curtis Blaydes strengthened his case for a heavyweight title shot on Saturday when he beat Alexander Volkov in the UFC on ESPN 11 main event.
Blaydes (14-2 MMA, 9-2 UFC) once again put his “universal game plan” of grappling to work against Volkov (31-8 MMA, 5-2 UFC) and it led to a unanimous decision victory in the headlining contest, which took place at UFC Apex in Las Vegas and aired on ESPN/ESPN+.
Check below for the top Twitter reactions to Blaydes’ victory over Volkov at UFC on ESPN 11.
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It's time for the #UFCVegas3 main event! Heavyweight contenders Curtis Blaydes (@RazorBlaydes265) and @AlexDragoVolkov are about to take the octagon.
Full play-by-play: https://t.co/LW7IjKSsQx pic.twitter.com/qHHAaO5c4z
— MMA Junkie (@MMAjunkie) June 21, 2020
#UFCFightNight Main Event Closing Betting Odds:
Alexander Volkov +290
Curtis Blaydes -350@CircaSports 💵 Live Now -> @ESPN @Jon_Anik @DominickCruz @bisping @UFC #UFCVegas3— Nick Kalikas (@FightOdds) June 21, 2020
Easy takedown wow
— GILBERT BURNS DURINHO (@GilbertDurinho) June 21, 2020
Blaydes gets his first takedown eight seconds into the fight. Think that’s a good sign for Volkov?
— Ben Fowlkes (@benfowlkesMMA) June 21, 2020
Well he promised a ragdolling.
— caposa (@Grabaka_Hitman) June 21, 2020
The takedown for Blaydes is a foregone conclusion. The challenge for Blaydes is a) keeping Volkov down and more crucially b) Volkov's guard retention.
— Luke Thomas (@lthomasnews) June 21, 2020
How Sharp is Blaydes wrestling offense ? That may be the difference in this Fight vs Drago #UFCVegas3
— Henry Cejudo (@HenryCejudo) June 21, 2020
Blaydes would have way more ko’s if uFC had pride rules #UFCVegas3
— Angela Hill (@AngieOverkill) June 21, 2020
Volkov taking rides this evening #UFCVegas3
— Mike Jackson, Esq. (@TheTruthJackson) June 21, 2020
Takedown was faster than mine! Sheeesh! #UFCVegas3
— Aljamain Sterling (@funkmasterMMA) June 21, 2020
Curtis Blaydes reminding me how much I miss hugs. One day…
— Greg Rosenstein (@grosenstein) June 21, 2020
Volkov’s counter grappling style and attempts to tripod/turtle are giving Blaydes the a la carte riding options many of us thought… let’s see if he can get back there this round.
— Dan Tom (@DanTomMMA) June 21, 2020
Blaydes looking great !
— Chris Weidman (@chrisweidman) June 21, 2020
Looks like it’s going to be a long night for Volkov #UFCVegas3
— GILBERT BURNS DURINHO (@GilbertDurinho) June 21, 2020
Badass @RazorBlaydes265 they say 7 Takedowns I have seen 2 .
— Mark Coleman (@Markcolemanmma) June 21, 2020
this is just what i needed to sleep during quarantine 🙏
— Dillon Danis (@dillondanis) June 21, 2020
@RazorBlaydes265 said he would Ragdoll Volkov and he is delivering 👏🏽 #UFCVegas3
— Tatiana Suarez (@tatianaufc) June 21, 2020
Good ole @RazorBlaydes265 is doing work!!! LETS GOOOO BABY!! #UFCVegas3
— Stephen Thompson (@WonderboyMMA) June 21, 2020
They called it @ufc @RazorBlaydes265 heavy weight Khabib… scary
— Forrest Griffin (@ForrestGriffin) June 21, 2020
Blaydes crushing him through Rd 2!
— Funky Ben (@Benaskren) June 21, 2020
— Merab “The Machine” Dvalishvili (@MerabDvalishvil) June 21, 2020
Volkov keep the distance @ufc
— Omari Akhmedov (@Omari_Akhmedov) June 21, 2020
*correction Khabib is the lightweight version of @RazorBlaydes265 #UFCVegas3
— Neil Magny (@NeilMagny) June 21, 2020
Blaydes doing an excellent job with switching his stances, attacking at different angles and mixing up his strikes. To make matters worse, it’s all helping him hit those TD’s that much easier on Volkov.
— Kenny Florian (@kennyflorian) June 21, 2020
Volkov opens round four with a kick and Blaydes catches it and takes him down. #UFCVegas3
— Rob Tatum (@RobTatum303) June 21, 2020
Damn Blaydes is efficient!
— Funky Ben (@Benaskren) June 21, 2020
Main event boring AF
— Jeremy Stephens (@LiLHeathenMMA) June 21, 2020
When Herb stands up a fight, it’s pretty bad.
— caposa (@Grabaka_Hitman) June 21, 2020
Blaydes is breathing pretty hard and slowing down. We may have a upset people! #UFCVegas3
— Henry Cejudo (@HenryCejudo) June 21, 2020
Blaydes is trying to unnecessarily hit big-lift throws late in the fight. He’ll learn a lot from this fight. If he can sharpen his ground game, especially positionally, Blaydes can absolutely be a champ.
— Kenny Florian (@kennyflorian) June 21, 2020
A tired Blaydes still manages to get multiple takedowns late. Seemed like there was about to be a momentum change but Volkov didn’t have that much pop on his shots, especially with Blaydes draped all over him all fight. #UFCVegas3
— Farah Hannoun (@Farah_Hannoun) June 21, 2020
Volkov had some moments late but that should be another win in the books for Blaydes, who banked some solid mat time tonight. #UFCVegas3
— Dan Tom (@DanTomMMA) June 21, 2020
Anyone remember a recent fight where neither guy seemed to care if they won or not? Embarrassing main event
— Sean McCorkle (@BigSexyMcCorkle) June 21, 2020
MOST TAKEDOWNS LANDED, Single UFC Fight
21 – Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Abel Trujillo (3-round fight)
16 – Sean Sherk vs. Hermes Franca
14 – Demetrious Johnson vs. Kyoji Horiguchi
14 – Curtis Blaydes vs. Alexander Volkov#UFCVegas3— Michael Carroll (@MJCflipdascript) June 21, 2020
#UFCVegas3 results: Curtis Blaydes (@RazorBlaydes265) def. Alex Volkov via unanimous decision (49-46, 48-47, 48-46)
Full play-by-play: https://t.co/LW7IjKSsQx pic.twitter.com/9aBvzoxtPS
— MMA Junkie (@MMAjunkie) June 21, 2020
