Alexander Volkov may be next in line for whoever is the heavyweight champion after UFC 321, coming away with a close, debatable split decision victory over Jailton Almeida.
Almeida scored a takedown right away in the opening seconds of the fight, getting Volkov to the mat right away and controlling the action. Volkov, however, managed to reverse the position about halfway through the round, getting on top and landing some strong blows on Almeida.
Almeida got Volkov down in the second round again, but he didn't seem to do much with it in the first couple of minutes. Volkov got back to his feet as Almeida got to his back, but Almeida dragged him back down and controlled the rest of the frame.
Almeida's grappling helped him control the third round as well, but Volkov made the most of damage with his striking -- including knees in the first minute of the final round. Two judges felt the same, as he earned a split decision win.
Alexander Volkov Earns Split Decision Over Jailton Almeida In UFC 321 Title Eliminator
For Volkov, this win may feel like redemption after being on the losing end of a controversial split decision at UFC 310. That loss came to tonight's title challenger, Ciryl Gane.
Almeida is now 2-2 in his last four after a 15-fight winning streak earlier in his career.