When you put a pair of fearsome finishers like Alexander Volkov and Alistair Overeem into the smaller of the UFC’s two cages, the fight isn’t likely to go the distance.
That was the case Saturday in the main event of UFC Fight Night 184. That turned out to be great news for Volkov (47-18 MMA, 12-7 UFC) and a bad night for Overeem (32-8 MMA, 6-2 UFC).
Volkov, a former Bellator heavyweight champion, had the most impressive victory of his UFC run and quite simply pieced up Overeem before finishing him with a TKO at the 2:06 mark of Round 2.
“I feel great. I feel really excited,” Volkov said. “It is my time.”
Volkov simply looked the sharper of the two from the outset. His low kicks and body kicks were on point and kept Overeem from building any momentum. When Overeem did manage to throw, they were single shots, and while a few of them landed, that wasn’t going to get the job done.
Volkov forced Overeem to cover up with a wicked flurry late in the opening round. While Overeem escaped the first round, there was an air of finality hovering at the UFC Apex. Volkov wasted little time going to work in the second round, each punch and kick landing hard, and it became obvious it was a matter of when, not if. A final left by Volkov sent Overeem awkwardly tumbling forward on hands and knees to the mat, and referee Jason Herzog waved things off before Overeem took any more damage.
With his 22nd career KO/TKO win, Volkov has now win two in a row and three of his past four. Overeem, in his 15th career KO/TKO loss, had a two-fight winning streak snapped.
The heavyweight bout was the UFC Fight Night 184 main event at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. It streamed on ESPN+.
Complete UFC Fight Night 184 results:
- Alexander Volkov def. Alistair Overeem via TKO (punches) — Round 2, 2;06
- Cory Sandhagen def. Frankie Edgar via knockout (flying knee) – Round 1, 0:28
- Clay Guida def. Michael Johnson via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Alexandre Pantoja def. Manel Kape via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
- Beneil Dariush def. Diego Ferreira via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
- Danilo Marques def. Mike Rodriguez via technical submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 4:52
- Devonte Smith def. Justin Jaynes via TKO (doctor’s stoppage) – Round 2, 3:38
- Karol Rosa def. Joselyne Edwards via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Lara Procopio def. Molly McCann via unanimous decision (29-27, 29-28, 30-27)
- Seungwoo Choi def. Youssef Zalal via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
- Timur Valiev def. Martin Day via unanimous decision (30-25, 30-25, 30-26)
- Ode Osbourne def. Jerome Rivera via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 0:26
