Alexander Volkov spent most of the fight on his back, but he still walked away with a big win over Jailton Almeida on UFC321.
As expected, Almeida came out and immediately shot for a takedown. He easily put Volkov on his back, but with a complete lack of offense, Volkov was able to wipeto gain top control. Volkov briefly went into full mount and dropped a few elbows before Almeida adjusted.
As the clock wound down in the first, Almeida was content to bury his head and let Volkov tee off on him, potentially surrendering a 10-9 to the Russian.
Almeida uses the high cross to score another takedown just seconds into the second stanza. Unfortunately, that’s where Almeida’s offense stopped, who was content to merely hold position even as Volkov willingly gave up his back.
With 90 seconds left in the stanza, referee Marc Goddard stopped the fighters due to a lack of action. Of course, that didn’t stop Almeida from immediately executing another takedown, putting them back in the same position.
Volkov tried to flip the script in the third round, pinning Almeida against the fence and landing a number of strikes in the net cling. But it wasn’t long before the Brazilian was knocked out again, leaving Volkov on his back once again. Still, Volkov was the more active fighter on his back, launching a series of strikes and elbows.
With Almeida content to simply ride his opponent, Goddard stopped them again. That prompted Almeida to secure one final takedown, much to the chagrin of the live audience.
As the final seconds ticked off the clock, fans in Abu Dhabi showered both fighters with boos, although we suspect a majority of them were aimed directly at Almeida.
Official result: Alexander Volkov defeated. Jailton Almeida via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28).
Watch highlights of Alexander Volkov vs. Jailton Almeida at UFC 321:
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