Getty Curtis Blaydes and Alexander Volkov face off during the UFC weigh-in at UFC APEX.
Two heavyweights take center stage for the UFC on ESPN as Curtis Blaydes clashes with Alexander Volkov in Las Vegas for the main event.
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The prelims (5 p.m. ET start time) and the main card (8 p.m. ET) will both be televised on ESPN, but if you don’t have cable, anyone in the United States can watch every fight via ESPN+:
Once signed up, you can then watch Blaydes vs Volkov and all the fights on your computer via ESPN.com, or you can watch on your phone (Android and iPhone compatible), tablet, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, or other compatible streaming device via the ESPN app.
For all of those options, you’ll need to sign in with your ESPN+ account to watch.
UFC Fight Night: Blaydes vs Volkov
Curtis Blaydes doesn’t expect his fight with Alexander Volkov to need five rounds. In fact, he expects his bout with his Russian opponent to be quick and painless — at least for him.
“FYI if y’all were hoping to see a 25 minute stand up war you probably shouldn’t tune in to the main event,” Blaydes wrote on social media. “I fully intend on ragdolling my opponent just figured I’d let y’all know ahead of time.”
Blaydes is a significant favorite, coming in at -430 — and rightly so. He’s won three in a row since his loss to Francis Ngannou in November of 2018, the last two by knockout. The most recent victory came against former heavyweight champion Junior Dos Santos.
Volkov is no slouch though, winning five of his six bouts since he joined the UFC in 2016 and has the respect of Blaydes.
“I want to get through this contract,” Blaydes told MMA Fighting. “Volkov is a respectable opponent. I wouldn’t just fight anyone. I’m no longer fighting guys like Justin Willis or Shamil Abdurakhimov, guys at the bottom. I only want contenders.
“I’m trying to build my case at a heavyweight title shot. I can’t build that off of names of guys who aren’t in the picture. Volkov’s in the picture. I believe I can beat him. I like making money.”
The heavyweight picture has Blaydes as the No. 3 contender, behind Daniel Cormier and Francis Ngannou. Blades has said he expects reigning champion Stipe Miocic and Cormier to complete their trilogy and if he wants a title shot he’ll also have to solve Ngannou, who has handed him his two losses in the UFC. There’s also a chance that Jon Jones could move up from light heavyweight to battle Ngannou before Blaydes gets a shot.
“It’s just another obstacle for me,” said Blaydes. “I have been in the UFC for four years now and I understand how things work. I get the chaos of it all. It’s annoying [I may get passed over for a title shot], but what is going to happen will happen regardless of how I feel about it. I just have to take care of my own business.
“If Jon wants that fight, they’re going to give it to him and there’s nothing I can do about it. But if I keep beating whoever they put in front of me, sooner or later, it’s going to be my name at the top of the list.”
Here’s the full card and odds for Saturday’s fights:
- Heavyweights: Curtis Blaydes -430 vs. Alexander Volkov +310
- Featherweights: Shane Burgos -140 vs. Josh Emmett +120
- Women’s bantamweights: Raquel Pennington -160 vs. Marion Reneau +135
- Welterweights: Belal Muhammad -125 vs. Lyman Good +105
- 160-pound catchweights: Roosevelt Roberts -230 vs. Jim Miller +190
- Lightweights: Bobby Green -240 vs. Clay Guida +200
- Women’s strawweights: Brianna Van Buren -200 vs. Tecia Torres +170
- Middleweights: Oskar Piechota -135 vs. Marc-Andre Barriault +115
- Women’s flyweights: Gillian Robertson -125 vs. Cortney Casey +105
- Lightweights: Frank Camacho -360 vs. Justin Jaynes +280
- Women’s flyweights: Roxanne Modafferi -120 vs. Lauren Murphy +100
- Lightweights: Max Rohskopf -175 vs. Austin Hubbard +150