UFC Fight Night: Volkov vs. Aspinall

Heavyweights Alexander Volkov and Tom Aspinall will square off in the main event of UFC Fight Night 204 this weekend. Volkov is ranked 6^th in the UFC’s Heavyweight Division, while Aspinall is ranked 11^th. However, this is expected to be a very tough fight between evenly matched competitors, and the UFC odds have Aspinall installed as a slight favorite even though he is behind Volkov in the rankings. There are other good down ballot fights too as Dan Hooker will drop down to featherweight to fight Arnold Allen, and light heavyweights Nikita Krylov and Paul Craig will face off.

UFC Fight Night 204 will headline Alexander Volkov and Tom Aspinall. This will be one of the first UFC Fight Night events outside of UFC Apex since COVID started, and it is the first UFC event to take place in London in three years. The promotion will take place on Saturday, March 19, 2022, at The O2 Arena. The preliminary fights will get started at 1 p.m. ET, while the main event begins at 4 p.m. ET.

UFC Fight Night: Volkov vs. Aspinall Preview

Alexander Volkov vs. Tom Aspinall

It might be a little surprising to see Aspinall listed as a slight favorite by the UFC betting odds coming into this fight. Aspinall is the hometown favorite though, as he hails from Manchester. He has won seven straight MMA events, and he has been extremely impressive in his four UFC victories. Aspinall has earned three Performance of the Night bonuses and finished six of his last seven opponents in the first round.

His UFC debut came against Jake Collier in Abu Dhabi in the summer of 2020. Aspinall finished Collier in the first round with a flurry of strikes, and he did the same thing against Alan Baudot less than three months later. We saw him score a submission victory over veteran heavyweight Andrei Arlovski in the second round last February, and Aspinall also got the better of Sergey Spivak in 150 seconds in September.

Volkov is the much more experienced fighter. This will be the 44^th professional MMA fight of his career, and he previously won the heavyweight title in both M1 and Bellator before moving to the UFC. He came to the UFC with plenty of fanfare, but thus far he has been able to beat the most elite heavyweights. Over the past three and a half years, his only losses have come against Ciryl Gane, Curtis Blaydes, and Derrick Lewis, and all three fighters are ranked ahead of him.

He isn’t great on the ground with only three of his 34 wins coming by submission, but he has the power and stamina to topple Aspinall. Volkov is the toughest opponent that Aspinall has faced so far, and the veteran is likely to give the young challenger his first UFC loss.

Dan Hooker vs. Arnold Allen

Although Dan Hooker isn’t headlining cards anymore, he wants to get back to that position. Unfortunately, Hooker has lost three of his last four bouts, so his star has faded somewhat in the UFC. That has led to him dropping down a weight class to take on Arnold Allen, and a win could see him stay at featherweight for a while given the talent in the lightweight division.

However, Allen is a slight favorite by the UFC betting lines. He is 17-1 with 10 straight wins and eight straight wins since joining the UFC. That’s an impressive start to a career, but to be fair, he has yet to beat a very good opponent. Additionally, Allen has only entered the Octagon once in the past two years.

Nikita Krylov vs. Paul Craig

Ukrainian Nikita Krylov will be a crowd favorite on Saturday, and he is a moderate favorite by the MMA betting odds. Krylov is 26-8 as a professional MMA fighter, but he has been up and down during his time in the UFC. His three most recent losses are to three of the top five light heavyweights in the division though.

Paul Craig is the only fighter to beat Magomed Ankalaev. Craig toppled Ankalaev in his debut, but he lost to Jimmy Crute and Alonzo Menifield in two of his next three fights. He earned Performance of the Night bonuses for his wins over Vinicius Moreira, Gad Antigulov, and Jamahal Hill, but this might be a bit too much to bite off.