UFC Moscow, Alexander Volkov vs Greg Hardy: Prediction and Full Fight Breakdown

UFC goes back to Russia for UFC Moscow that features a featherweight clash between Zabit Magomedsharipov and Calvin Kattar. While In the co-main event, Alexander Volkov takes on Greg Hardy. This is an exciting fight in the heavyweight division and it’s not because both guys are two of the best fighters in the division. It’s because Greg Hardy is the only “Heel” in the heavyweight division and fans want to see him lose. His journey in UFC so far has been controversial, however, he is unbeaten in the UFC octagon so far if you don’t count his loss due to an illegal strike. Let’s dissect Alexander Volkov vs Greg Hardy.

Alexander Volkov:

Recrod: Wins/Losses:- 30/7

Last 5 Fights: W W W W L

On UFC 229, Alexander Volkov fought Derrick Lewis in the main card and he was one win away from main eventing Madison Square Garden. Due to the loss to Lewis, he missed out on the title shot against the champion, Daniel Cormier. Volkov was winning the fight against Lewis until he was not. One mistake and he got knocked out Lewis in the third round. However, considering how exhausted Greg Hardy was in his last fight, it’s hard to imagine Hardy knocking out Volkov in the final round.

Volkov is a much better striker than Hardy. He has some huge wins in his MMA career such as wins over Fabricio Werdum, Blagoy Ivanov, and Stefan Struve. Volkov has the reach advantage, he can pick apart Hardy from the distance. Although Hardy has a great leg kick, I don’t see those kicks having a great impact on the outcome of the fight.

Greg Hardy:

Record(Wins/Losses):- 5/1 (1 NC)

Last 5 Fights: W L W W NC

Fans are going tune in to see this fight only to watch Hardy lose. After he used the inhaler in between rounds in his last fight, he has generated quite a buzz in the MMA community. While it’s commendable that he has taken this fight on very short notice, this will be a big step up for Hardy who has not been fighting any ranked fighters.

Greg Hardy is a big heavyweight and he is athletic for sure. However, he is relatively new to the sport and his striking is average at best. Although the improvements he made were obvious in his last fight, he is unlikely to assert the same level of dominance against a veteran of the sport, Alexander Volkov.

His cardio did not look good in the last fight. At this level, you have got to have the gas tank to go three rounds. Especially when you are fighting a top-ranked opponent. We can’t expect a huge improvement in that aspect on such short notice. However, there is one thing that is going in the favor of Hardy, Momentum.

Volkov has been inactive for more than a year. While Greg Hardy has fought nearly 5 times during that. It’s worth mentioning that he had a full fight camp for the last fight, so he is as ready as he can be for this one as well since he did not take any significant damage in that fight.

It’s the heavyweight division. On some night skills will nullify the brute force and on some nights brute force is enough to put the skills out of the window. Consider Francis Ngannou. He is not the most skilled fighter in the division, however, he has knocked out legends such as Junior Dos Santos and Cain Velasquez. Now consider the fight between Stipe Miocic and Francis Ngannou when Miocic exposed Ngannou with his elite skills. So counting out Greg Hardy from the fight completely might not be a good idea. However, Volkov is likely to get the job done. He is the superior fighter of the two overall, and he is going to either knock Hardy out or else strike with him for three rounds to win on judges’ scorecards.

Alexander Volkov vs Greg Hardy Prediction: Alexander Volkov