The UFC is set for its first event in Canada this year, which is set to be headlined by Curtis Blaydes taking on Alexander Volkov in a heavyweight matchup.
According to the Russian media outlet Sports.ru, the UFC is set to return to Canada with an event in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan on June 20. A Heavyweight clash between Curtis Blaydes and Alexander Volkov will serve as the main event. ESPN reporter Brett Okamoto confirmed the bout on his official Twitter.
“Confirmed via sources the plan is for Curtis Blaydes ( @RazorBlaydes265 ) and Alexander Volkov ( @AlexDragoVolkov ) to headline UFC Fight Night Saskatoon in June. Obviously, Blaydes feels he’s ready for a title shot but the division remains in flux and he wanted to stay active.”
As Okamoto states, Curtis Blaydes is using this bout to remain active. The Heavyweight division is currently at a stand-still, since the champion Stipe Miocic is recovering from an eye injury. Once Miocic is medically cleared to return, the UFC will most likely be looking to book Stipe Miocic vs Daniel Cormier 3 sometime later this year – a fight that Cormier wants badly, hinting that it may be his last.
Another Heavyweight top contender in Francis Ngannou is set to fight Jairzinho Rozenstruik at UFC Columbus in March. The winner of that bout would appear to be next in line for the title shot.
Curtis Blaydes will be entering the fight on a 3-fight winning streak. In his last outing at UFC Raleigh, Blaydes TKO’d Junior dos Santos. Prior to that, he TKO’d Shamil Abdurakhimov and won against Justin Willis by decision. “Razor” is currently 8-2 in the UFC with 1 no-contest. Unfortunately for Blaydes, he has lost to Ngannou twice, which has halted his title aspirations. If the American is able to beat Volkov, he may still get overlooked for a title shot in a similar way Felicia Spencer was given the fight against Amanda Nunes, instead of Megan Anderson.
Alexander Volkov was able to return to his winning ways after a dominant decision win over Greg Hardy. Prior to that, he suffered a devastating knockout loss to Derrick Lewis with just seconds left in the round at UFC 229. The Russian is currently ranked No. 7 in the UFC Heavyweight division.
This article first appeared on CLOSEDGUARDMEDIA.com on 6th March, 2020.
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