Alexander Volkov is all set to make his octagon return at UFC Vegas 56 against Jairzinho Rozenstruik – Is the Russian the tallest fighter ever in the UFC?
Alexander Yevgenievich Volkov (born October 24, 1988) is a Russian professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He has been a professional MMA competitor since 2009 and has previously competed for the M-1 Global promotion, as well as Bellator MMA. Besides being a veteran and pioneer of the sport, he is also one of the most formidable figures inside the octagon.
Volkov is a black belt in Tsu Shin Gen, brown belt in Kyokushin Karate, and brown belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. In 2008 Volkov signed with the M-1 Global fighting organization. He made his professional MMA debut in April 2009 when he defeated Nikolay Pleshakov by TKO (punches) in just 80 seconds. Volkov followed this up a month later with a 20 seconds TKO victory, this time against Adam Alikhanov. A month later, Volkov suffered his first professional loss at the hands of Akhmed Sultanov. Midway through the first round, Volkov was forced to tap to an armbar. Volkov then went on a two-fight win streak, both via TKO.
In September 2012, Volkov was signed to the Bellator Fighting Championships. He made his U.S. debut in the Bellator season seven heavyweight tournament. In the opening, quarter-final round he faced Brett Rogers at Bellator 75. Volkov dominated the fight by making the most of his reach advantage.
Volkov won via unanimous decision. In the semifinals at Bellator 80, he faced Vinicius Queiroz and won via TKO in the second round. On December 14, Volkov fought Richard Hale in a 5 round fight for Bellator Season 7 Heavyweight Tournament Final and Bellator Heavyweight Championship. Volkov won via unanimous decision.
With immense success in the first professional year, Volkov started competing in the prestigious M-1 Eastern European tournament, taking victories in the opening round and the semi-final. Volkov progressed to the M-1 Selection 2010 – Eastern Europe Finals, where a win would put him in line to challenge for the M-1 Global Heavyweight title at the 2010 M-1 Challenge Season events. To reach the championship fight, Volkov first had to take on Maxim Grishin to become the Eastern Europe champion. Unfortunately for Volkov, he fell prey to a rear-naked choke early in the opening round and was eliminated.
In September 2016, it was announced that Volkov has signed with the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He made his debut against Timothy Johnson on November 19, 2016, at UFC Fight Night 99. Volkov was awarded a controversial split decision victory. 12 out of 12 media scores gave the bout to Johnson.
Volkov faced Roy Nelson on April 15, 2017, at UFC on Fox 24. He won the fight via unanimous decision.
Volkov faced Stefan Struve on September 2, 2017, at UFC Fight Night: Volkov vs. Struve. He won the bout via TKO in the third round. The win also earned Volkov his first Fight of the Night bonus award.
The Russian Volkov, a veteran of the sport has had a staggering 44 fights in MMA, and 12 fights inside the UFC octagon. The former M-1 and Bellator heavyweight champion has a record of 34-10, with notable wins against Alistair Overeem and Fabricio Werdum.
Alexander Volkov is not the tallest fighter to fight inside the UFC octagon
The UFC heavyweight division has seen some gigantic men in its time, and amongst them is the formidable Russian Alexander Volkov. Standing at a staggering 6 ft 7 inches. Volkov uses his spectacular reach to outclass opponents. Although he’s not the biggest in terms of muscularity and weight, he definitely is daunting figure.
So who is the tallest fighter to fight inside the UFC octagon? Stefan Struve, a retired Dutch mixed martial artist who competed as a heavyweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship is the tallest fighter to ever compete inside the UFC. He was an astounding 7 feet tall, and fought between 2009 to 2020 in the UFC.
He held a record of 13 wins and 10 losses inside the UFC octagon.
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