2nd place Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Heavyweight Alexander Volkov continued his march towards the long-awaited title win Rizvan Kuniev by unanimous decision at UFC 333 last weekend (Saturday, October 24, 2026) at Fight Island at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
Unfortunately, Volkov is trapped in the heavyweight no man’s land.
The 38-year-old has done more than enough to challenge for the title, but several moving pieces could see him on the outside again. As a former champion Tom Aspinall will be back soon he will almost certainly be placed ahead of Volkov. And as a Heavyweight rookie Alex Pereira strikes out Sergei Pavlovich at UFC 335“Poatan” could use his star power to leapfrog the Russian contender.
Still, Volkov has great support from the retired former heavyweight champion Stipe Miocicwho believes Drago has what it takes to capture UFC gold when he finally gets the chance.
“Volkov has fought everyone. He is extremely tough,” Miocic said casino.org/canada recently. “I’ve always watched him and always rooted for him. I’m glad I’ve never fought him, but I think if he gets a chance to be champion, he’ll do it.”
“I think he’s fast and it’s not like he goes into fights and gets smoked,” Miocic continued. “I think he’s doing it his way, and I think he’s right.”
Since then, “Drago” has won three straight and is now 7-1 in his last eight bouts, with Gane’s contested decision his only official loss during that stretch.
At 38, Volkov can’t afford to wait forever. But after nearly a decade of fighting everything the UFC has thrown at him, Miocic believes one title shot could be all the Russian needs.
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