Alistair Overeem will face Alexander Volkov in the final bout of a relatively stacked UFC Fight Night card this Saturday. Overeem vs. Volkov is the first of three heavyweight main event bouts scheduled for February, with Blaydes vs. Lewis and Rozenstruik vs. Gane coming later in the month.
Overeem steps into this fight on a two-fight win streak with back-to-back ground and pound knockout wins against Walt Harris and Augusto Sakai. The 40-year-old is in an awkward spot in the UFC heavyweight rankings at #5 behind Ngannou, Blaydes, and Rozenstruik who have all defeated him.
Volkov, too, finds himself in that middle-tier of the UFC heavyweight rankings, just behind Overeem at #6. Volkov’s recent win against Walt Harris helped him to a 6-2 record in the UFC since joining in 2016.
Overeem vs. Volkov betting odds
- Alistair Overeem to win: +145
- Alexander Volkov to win: -175
Overeem vs. Volkov predictions
In a video posted to The Body Lock’s YouTube channel, Patrick Auger and Drake Riggs discussed Overeem vs. Volkov and shared their predictions ahead of the main event this Saturday.
Patrick Auger
“I don’t think Reem’s ground game is going to be more effective than Blaydes. I think that unless he can get Volkov down and hold him down for enough rounds to win a decision, I think that Volkov won’t get finished on the ground. Unless he gets staggered on the feet first.
“I think Volkov is much more likely to touch Overeem’s chin at some point. He’s not known for big power shots, but we’ve seen him do it recently. He’s got enough power to hit Overeem’s chin and that’s the problem. Overeem’s chin is too much of an Achilles heel here, but it should be an awesome kickboxing back-and-forth matchup until that happens.
“I’ve gotta give Volkov a second-round TKO simply on hitting the button.”
– Volkov to win by KO/TKO in Round 2
Drake Riggs
“I do think we’ll see that incredibly underrated Overeem ground game which he’s been continuing to utilize and utilized in his last two fights, more so the last one against Sakai.
“I think the end result will be him getting Volkov down and utilizing his ground and pound to find a finish in the third round. But it’s going to be dangerous leading up to that and very exciting on the feet. I can see Overeem not wanting to play there at all, but he’s a guy who has gotten smarted and more calculated or the time he has been fighting. I’ve gotta go with the ageless wonder here.”
– Overeem to win by KO/TKO in Round 3