London will be host to a UFC Fight Night 127 on Saturday March 17th, at the O2 Arena with a main event of Fabricio Werdum and Alexander Volkov. We’ve seen quite a few changes to this card that have pushed some newcomers and unproven fighters into the cage, but it should be a fun night of fights in advance of UFC 223 on April 7.
In total, 12 fights are on the card, with four making the cut as Main Card bouts. The entire event will be shown Saturday afternoon on UFC Fight Pass, the company’s digital network. This is truly an international card with fighters from Afghanistan, Russia, Scotland, England, Canada, Wales, Sweden, the United States, Germany, France, Poland, and Brazil. There are 8 fights on the preliminary card and they include bout in just about every weight class from two lightweight fights to heavyweights Mark Godbeer and Dmitriy Sosnovskiy
Alexander Volkov (+170) vs. Fabricio Werdum (-200); Total: 2.5 (-130/110) Odds for UFC Fight Night 127
Five rounds are scheduled for the heavyweight fight between Alexander Volkov and Fabricio Werdum, but we probably won’t need all 25 minutes to determine a winner.
Alexander Volkov (+170)
Volkov is 3-0 in his UFC career, though his wins haven’t been as impressive as it sounds. He needed all 15 minutes to beat Timothy Johnson and Roy Nelson and it took 13 minutes and 30 seconds to beat Stefan Struve. Volkov was the champion in both Bellator and M-1, but it certainly seems like he has had his issues with the top class of heavyweights.
Fabricio Werdum (-200)
Fabricio Werdum needed all 25 minutes to dismiss Marcin Tybura’s charges as the headliner of the November 18 Fight Night card. The 40-year-old doesn’t have much left to prove in this division, but it is a bit concerning that it took him that long with Tybura, who is a solid, but unspectacular fighter. Werdum hasn’t seemed like the same since his UFC 198 loss to Stipe Miocic, who has now defended the strap in each successive fight. Werdum is giving up a little size and certainly some youth here.
Pick & Prediction: Alexander Volkov (+170)
Volkov probably won’t win this fight, but we’ve seen three fights go the distance for Werdum out of his last four and he fought three times in 2017. Certainly he’s in premier physical condition, but he is getting older and a long, lanky fighter like Volkov may wear on him. Volkov also has a lot more to gain here, which could come into play.
