Alexander Volkov repositioned himself into heavyweight title contention with a pivotal win over one of the division’s most prolific finishers.

Looking to get back in the win column, Volkov (32-8 MMA, 6-2 UFC) faced Walt Harris at UFC 254, which took place in October on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi.

It was an aggressive start from both men, as Harris came out firing. Volkov countered with a few solid shots of his own, pressuring Harris against the cage with a variety of strikes. Towards the end of Round 1, Volkov hurt Harris with a left hook, but Harris was able to weather the storm by throwing heavy leather to get out of harm’s way.

But in Round 2, Volkov kept his foot on the gas pedal, eventually landing a body kick that had Harris wincing. The Russian followed it up with a barrage of punches, stopping Harris just over one minute into the second round.

Volkov returns to action Saturday when he takes on Alistair Overeem (47-18 MMA, 12-7 UFC) in the main event of UFC Fight Night 184, which takes place at UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

Before he faces Overeem, relive Volkov’s finish of Harris in the video above.

Article source: https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2021/02/ufc-free-fight-video-alexander-volkov-stops-walt-harris

Pound For Pound Rankings

UFC president Dana White has one more meeting set up with Nurmagomedov in Las Vegas, but it seems the reigning lightweight champ is content to stick to his retirement.

Already considered one of the greatest fighters of all-time, Jones said he wants to turn his attention to heavyweight and has no intention of returning to 205 pounds.

Upcoming Fight: vs Jan Blachowicz | Mar 06, 2021 – UFC 259: Blachowicz vs. Adesanya

It was a meteoric rise for ‘The Last Stylebender’ to his place as UFC middleweight champion, and he’ll look for champ-champ status in March when he moves to light heavyweight.

Upcoming Fight: vs Adriano “Black Diamond” Moraes | Apr 07, 2021 – ONE on TNT I: Moraes vs. Johnson

After fulfilling his dream of adding a global belt to his collection of championships, ‘Mighty Mouse’ now looks to add ONE’s flyweight belt to the grand prix title he already earned.

Upcoming Fight: vs Gilbert “Durinho” Burns | Feb 13, 2021 – UFC 258: Usman vs. Burns

Usman may not be the most popular figure on the UFC roster, but he’s certainly effective and is starting to put his name in the history books with his dominant run.

Upcoming Fight: vs Francis “The Predator” Ngannou | Mar 27, 2021 – UFC 260: Miocic vs. Ngannou 2

With his trilogy win over Daniel Cormier secured, Miocic is widely considered the greatest heavyweight in UFC history – and perhaps even all of MMA.

A point dediction for a low blow forced Figueiredo to settle for a draw against Brandon Moreno, and the two are expected to meet again in early 2021.

Bader was certainly disappointed to lose his Bellator champ-champ status, but he does still have one belt and promises to return in top form.

Upcoming Fight: vs Brian “T-City” Ortega | Mar 27, 2021 – UFC 260: Miocic vs. Ngannou 2

It wasn’t as convincing as the first time around, but Volkanovski picked up a second win over Max Holloway and says he wants to continue taking out top contenders.

Poirier continues to be one of the most exciting fighters in the game, and his grit is immeasurable – qualities he hopes will net him another UFC title shot in the near future.

Holloway delivered a record-breaking destruction of Calvin Kattar and now looks like he’ll get a chance to regain the UFC featherweight title later this year.

Khabib Nurmagomedov proved to be too much for Gaethje at UFC 254, but ‘The Highlight’ could very well get another title shot in the very near future.

Upcoming Fight: vs Paulo Costa | Apr 17, 2021 – UFC Fight Night

With a fantastic win over Jared Cannonier, Whittaker seemed to prove himself the No. 1 contender in the UFC’s middleweight division, but Dana White said he’ll need one more win for a title shot.

Costa was frustrated after suffering the first loss of his career and will now face another monster in Robert Whittaker in his trail back to a title shot.

Upcoming Fight: vs Aljamain “Funk Master” Sterling | Mar 06, 2021 – UFC 259: Blachowicz vs. Adesanya

Yan and his devastating boxing skills have earned him a UFC title, and his first defense will come against an impressive challenger in Aljamain Sterling.

Honorable Mentions

USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings, Feb. 2: Big month ahead at heavyweight

Alexa Grasso, Alexander Volkov, Alistair Overeem, Cory Sandhagen, Curtis Blaydes, Cyril Gane, Derrick Lewis, Frankie Edgar, Gilbert Burns, Jairzinho Rozenstruik, Jimmie Rivera, Kamaru Usman, Maycee Barber, Pedro Munhoz, MMA Rankings, News, UFC

Ranking Criteria

The rankings take into account a fighter’s wins/losses, quality of competition, finishing rate/dominance and frequency of fights.

Fighters are no longer eligible to be ranked after they’ve been inactive for 24 months, either due to injuries, drug/conduct suspensions, contract disputes or self-imposed hiatuses.

Fighters serving drug/conduct suspensions are eligible to be ranked, so long as they’re not inactive for more than 24 months.

To the best of our ability, fighters will be ranked in their primary weight class. Catchweight fights and bouts outside the fighter’s primary weight class can have a positive or negative impact on the ranking. However, non-titleholders can be ranked in only one weight class at a given time, and in most cases, they won’t be ranked in a new weight class until they’ve had their first fight at that weight.

Article source: https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2021/02/usa-today-sports-mma-junkie-rankings-feb-2-big-month-ahead-at-heavyweight

After becoming the first man in professional mixed martial arts to knock out “The Notorious” Conor McGregor, number one UFC lightweight contender Dustin Poirier spoke with ESPN’s Ariel Helwani about what’s next in his career.

“The Diamond” says, while he’s not entirely sure what’s next for him, one thing is for certain.

“I believe I’m the world champion right now,” Poirier said. “If Khabib’s not fighting, I’m the world champion.”

When asked about whether he’d like to be “given” the UFC title, assuming Khabib relinquishes the lightweight championship, Poirier was quick to respond.

“‘Given’ is a word I will never use. I don’t want to be given anything,” Poirier said. “I’ve earned, and I want to continue to earn everything I have.”

When asked about a rematch with McGregor, Poirier wasn’t opposed to potentially having the lightweight title at stake for the trilogy bout.

“I knocked him out, he knocked me out,” Poirier said. “A rubber match, it does make sense.”

When asked about surging UFC newcomer and now number four ranked lightweight Michael Chandler, Poirier has not changed his mind regarding whether or not Chandler deserves a title shot.

“He beat a guy I already beat,” Poirier said. “They’re gonna put him in a title fight? Why wasn’t my fight a title fight just now? I beat the same guy last year.”

Poirier also gave his thoughts on a potential matchup with Nate Diaz, whom he has had a bit of a feud with in the past and who is teasing a return to the octagon.

“Does it make sense in the lightweight division? No. Does it make sense where I’m at standing in the doorfront of a title shot? No,” Poirier said. “Before I move past the Conor trilogy and get too far ahead of myself, I’m open to fights that excite me and this one [with Diaz] excites me.”

Regardless of who is next for Poirier, he made it clear as far as what is next, and that’s a title shot.

“I wanna be the world champ man.”

TRENDING Joe Rogan: Is Conor McGregor still a UFC title contender?

What’s next for Conor McGregor following UFC 257 knockout loss?

(Subscribe to MMAWeekly.com on YouTube)

Article source: https://www.mmaweekly.com/dustin-poirier-if-khabibs-not-fighting-im-the-world-champion

Nate Diaz has been teasing a return to the Octagon, but all signs point to him wanting to compete at 170 pounds. He also appears to want a fight with Dustin Poirier, who recently knocked out Conor McGregor at UFC 257 on Fight Island.

So what gives?

Basically, Nate Diaz is Nate Diaz. He wants to fight on his terms, not anyone else’s.

In his last few social media posts, particularly after Poirier’s win over McGregor, Diaz has been taking aim at the UFC’s No. 1 contender…

Raphael Assuncao won’t be fighting on Feb. 27.

Scheduled to fight Raoni Barcelos in a pivotal bantamweight matchup, Assuncao (27-8 MMA, 14-7 UFC) has withdrawn from the UFC Fight Night event at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas for unknown reasons.

Two people with knowledge of the situation informed MMA Junkie of the withdrawal but asked to remain anonymous as the promotion has yet to make an official announcement.

Barcelos (16-1 MMA, 5-0 UFC) has struggled to find matchups that hold up. Four of his past seven matchups have been canceled. A former RFA featherweight champion, Barcelos currently rides a nine-fight winning streak including victories over Said Nurmagomedov, Chris Gutierrez, and Kurt Holobaugh.

The UFC Fight Night event marks only the second time Assuncao has withdrawn from a fight since 2013.

With the change, the UFC Fight Night lineup for Feb. 27 includes:

• Jairzinho Rozenstruik vs. Ciryl Gane
• Raoni Barcelos vs. TBA
• William Knight vs. Alonzo Menifield
• Alexis Davis vs. Sabina Mazo
• Randy Brown vs. Alex Oliveira
• Hannah Cifers vs. Emily Whitmire
• Alex Caceres vs. Kevin Croom
• Magomed Ankalaev vs. Nikita Krylov
• Montana De La Rosa vs. Mayra Bueno Silva
• Alexander Hernandez vs. Thiago Moises
• Vince Cachero vs. Ronnie Lawrence

Article source: https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2021/02/ufc-news-ufc-fight-night-raphael-assuncao-out-vs-raoni-barcelos-february-27