Alexander Volkov knew what was coming in his showdown with Curtis Blaydes. He just couldn't stop it.
Blaydes secured a UFC heavyweight-record 14 takedowns en route to a dominant unanimous decision victory in the main event of UFC on ESPN from the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday night.
The No. 3-ranked heavyweight made his intentions clear earlier in the week.
Try as he might, Volkov had no answers for his opponent's superior wrestling.
Blaydes wasted little time taking Volkov down, with the first one coming less than 10 seconds into the fight. He then kept his weight on the Russian for the entirety of the first round.
Wary of the takedown, Volkov was hit with a volley of punches to open the second round before being taken down yet again. Once more, Volkov found himself with his back stuck to the canvas for a majority of the round. He finally made his way back up to his feet in the closing seconds, but Blaydes secured another takedown for good measure as the round came to a close.
It was much the same in the third round, although it did appear Blaydes had slowed down. But the offensive wrestling was on full display as he used a variety of techniques to keep Volkov down.
The heavy wrestling approach spent Blaydes' gas tank, however, and it began to show midway through the fourth round when Volkov managed to shrug off several takedowns and score one of his own in the final seconds.
Volkov aimed to take advantage of an exhausted Blaydes in the final round and connected with a hard knee during a takedown attempt. But Blaydes' wrestling pedigree was simply too much, and Volkov touched the canvas for a 14th time. There wasn't much else for Volkov to do but come to terms with losing the fight as the final horn sounded and scores of 49-46, 48-47 and 48-46 were read in favor of Blaydes soon after.
Blaydes, 29, improved to 13-2 (one no-contest) with the victory. The only losses of his MMA career have come at the hands of No. 2-ranked Francis Ngannou.
Cain Velasquez previously held the heavyweight takedown record with 11 against Junior dos Santos.
In the co-main event, Josh Emmett scored a decision over Shane Burgos in an action-packed featherweight showdown that will likely be in the conversation for Fight of the Year.
Emmett got off to a fast start by routinely landing his big right hand and loading up on power shots. But Burgos decided to keep his foot on the gas and press forward with a mixture of punches and leg kicks. It appeared that Emmett may have torn his ACL in the opening seconds, but he refused to back down.
Burgos came on strong in the second frame and continued to chop at Emmett's left leg while absorbing Emmett's heavy hands. Both gave as well as they took, and Burgos' mixture of strikes likely snared the round.
In the third, Emmett finally sent Burgos to the canvas with a right hand that sneaked through the guard. Burgos pulled himself off the canvas and slowed down the action with an accidental low blow. After the restart, Emmett again put Burgos down with a left hand, but Burgos again managed to survive the storm. It was a testament to Burgos' exceptional chin and overall toughness as he dug deep and attempted to fight his way back.
Emmett was simply too much, though, in an exceptional performance. The scores were 29-28, 29-28 and 29-27.
UFC on ESPN: Blaydes vs. Volkov results
Main card
- Curtis Blaydes def. Alexander Volkov via unanimous decision (49-46, 48-47, 48-46)
- Josh Emmett def. Shane Burgos via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-27)
- Raquel Pennington def. Marion Reneau via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
- Belal Muhammad def. Lyman Good via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Jim Miller def. Roosevelt Roberts via 1st-round submission (2:25)
Prelims
- Bobby Green def. Clay Guida via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
- Tecia Torres def. Brianna Van Buren via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Marc-André Barriault def. Oskar Piechota via 2nd-round TKO (4:50)
- Gillian Robertson def. Cortney Casey via 3rd-round submission (4:32)
- Justin Jaynes def. Frank Camacho via 1st-round TKO (:41)
- Lauren Murphy def. Roxanne Modafferi via unanimous decision
- Austin Hubbard def. Max Rohskopf via 2nd-round TKO (5:00)