UFC Fight Night: Overeem vs. Volkov Full Fight Results

Heavyweights took center stage as the UFC returned to Las Vegas’ UFC Apex on Saturday, Feb. 6. Alexander Volkov put his name into heavyweight title contention with a second-round knockout win over Alistair Overeem. Cory Sandhagen also put in an early contender for knockout of the year with a flying knee finish of legend Frankie Edgar at 26-second mark of the first round. Then we saw Beneil Dariush and Diego Ferreira scrap for 15 minutes in a low-key fight of the year contender. That’s not to forget Ode Osbourne’s 26-second knockout of Jerome Rivera in the curtain-jerker. In all, a solid fight card on paper turned out to be as good, if not better, than expected.

Matt Allen finished 8-4, including a perfect second-round knockout prediction in the main event, to improve to 32-15 on the year, a 5-pick advantage over Craig Allen, who went 7-5. The 12-fight card finished with four knockouts and one submission. The UFC returns next Saturday for UFC 258 featuring Kamaru Usman and Gilbert Burns. Follow fightnightpicks.com and Fight Night Picks on YouTube for all the content leading up to the second pay-per-view of 2021.

Results

Featherweight

Ode Osbourne (-214) def. Jerome Rivera by knockout (R1, 0:26)

Props: by knockout (+360); under 1.5 (+143)

Matt’s pick: Osbourne; Craig’s pick: Osbourne

Well that’s one way to start a Fight Night card! Ode Osbourne caught a leg kick from Jerome Rivera, returned a powerful left hand which crumpled Rivera. Chris Tognoni quickly stepped in to end the fight. It was Osbourne’s first win in the UFC after losing to Brian Kelleher a little over a year ago.

Featherweight

Timur Valiev (-428) def. Martin Day by unanimous decision (30-25, 30-25, 30-26)

Props: by decision (+181); over 2.5 (-105)

Matt’s pick: Valiev; Craig’s pick: Valiev

Timur Valiev took Martin Day to the Old Town Road and rode ’til he couldn’t no more. In a dominating performance fit for such a heavy favorite, Valiev scored three takedowns — one in each round — and controlled Day on the ground while getting in a fair share of blows for the resounding decision win.

Featherweight

Seung Woo Choi (+193) def. Youssef Zalal by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)

Props: by decision (+359); over 2.5 (-213)

Matt’s pick: Zalal; Craig’s pick: Zalal

In his first appearance inside the Octagon since 2019, Seung Woo Choi looked great in a resounding decision victory over Youssef Zalal. Choi picked apart Zalal on the feet, using a pressure-based attack, and defended everything Zalal had in the clinch and grappling game. Zalal had a brief moment of success when he attempted a guillotine and transitioned to an arm triangle in the third round but a pair of takedowns and a big striking advantage gave Choi the victory.

Women’s Flyweight

Lara Procopio (+107) def. Molly McCann by unanimous decision (29-27, 29-28, 30-27)

Props: by decision (+180); over 2.5 (-367)

Matt’s pick: McCann; Craig’s pick: Procopio

Lara Procopio used a wrestling-heavy approach to completely control “Meatball” Molly McCann. She scored takedowns in each round and controlled positions well. McCann had a threatening moment in the second round when she attacked a deep armbar but she was unable to secure it as Procopio picked up her first UFC victory. McCann left her gloves in the Octagon after the bout. She later clarified it was a tribute to her late father. Saturday was his birthday.

Women’s Bantamweight

Karol Rosa (-225) def. Joselyne Edwards by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Props: by decision (+100); over 2.5 (-242)

Matt’s pick: Rosa; Craig’s pick: Rosa

Karol Rosa went to her bread and butter early, attacking the lead leg and working the takedowns. She controlled Edwards on the ground and worked plenty of ground and pound on her way to the unanimous decision victory. The Panamanian Joselyne Edwards, in her second fight in three weeks, showed some flashes during the few minutes spent on the feet. A second-round flurry from Edwards cut Rosa in the mouth. Rosa proceeded to paint the mat with blood, including spitting out a wad of blood while in side control.

Catchweight: 160 pounds

Devonte Smith (-340) def. Justin Jaynes (+267) by technical knockout (R2, 3:38)

Props: by TKO (-177); over 1.5 (+151))

Matt’s pick: Smith; Craig’s pick: Smith

Devonte Smith showed no rust after a long layoff because of an Achilles injury, peppering “Guitar Hero” Justin Jaynes with a heavy jab and powerful straight rights. The much bigger and stronger Smith was dominant on the feet, landing higher volume and power as Jaynes flung wildly. After a scrambling exchange in the second round, Smith ended on top and went to work with some ground and pound. When he finally let Jaynes up, the Guitar Hero’s left eye had massive bruising and was swollen shut. Referee Keith Peterson called in the doctor, who advised him to end the fight, much to Jaynes’ dismay.

Light Heavyweight

Danilo Marques (+194) def. Mike Rodriguez by submission (R2, 4:52)

Props: by submission (+500); over 1.5 (-102)

Matt’s pick: Rodriguez; Craig’s pick: Rodriguez

Danilo Marques turned this into a wrestling match and Mike Rodriguez had no answers. Marques earned a pair of takedowns and Rodriguez was “Slow” to respond. Marques eventually worked his way to the back of Rodriguez, flattened him out and picked up the rear-naked choke victory as Rodriguez fell asleep. Referee Jason Herzog and his bright smile woke up “Slow” Mike moments later.

Lightweight

Beneil Dariush (-118) def. Diego Ferreira by split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)

Props: by decision (+279); over 2.5 (-133)

Matt’s pick: Dariush; Craig’s pick: Dariush

The much-hyped rematch between two fighters on long win streaks lived up to expectations in a wild scramble-heavy bout. Beneil Dariush was the aggressor, pushing a wrestling gameplan and landing a personal-best five takedowns. He also landed some heavy punches on the feet. Diego Ferreira perhaps was the more technical striker and threatened with several submissions, but was on his back foot most of the fight. It went to the judges’ scorecards, where Beneil Dariush edged out Diego Ferreira. Whomever you thought the fight went to, it was MMA at its best. “I think he’s the toughest guy I fought so far,” Dariush said in his postfight interview with Daniel Cormier.

Flyweight

Alexandre Pantoja (-110) def. Manel Kape by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)

Props: by decision (+356); over 2.5 (+122)

Matt’s pick: Pantoja; Craig’s pick: Pantoja

Now this hyped fight ended up being a whole lot of nothing, as Manel Kape opted to dance instead of throw and Alexandre Pantoja was patient in his attack. Pantoja was the more volume-heavy striker, but Kape was far more accurate. Judges might as well have coin-flipped for the winner each round. The decision ended up going to Pantoja in a rather unimpressive performance as both fighters were cautious in going forward.

Lightweight

Clay Guida (+177) def. Michael Johnson by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Props: by decision (+237); over 2.5 (-221)

Matt’s pick: Guida; Craig’s pick: Johnson

In typical Clay Guida fashion, “The Carpenter” was relentless with his wrestling, taking Michael Johnson to the ground on numerous occasions while landing the occasional right overhand. Michael Johnson was the much more technical striker, cutting Guida in the first round, but he ended the fight defending a choke. It was a razor close fight, where judges favored Clay Guida by unanimous decision. It continues the downward spiral for the fighter formerly known as “The Menace”. It was Guida’s first win since 2019.

Bantamweight

Cory Sandhagen (-392) def. Frankie Edgar by knockout (R1, 0:28)

Props: by knockout (+216); under 1.5 (+280)

Matt’s pick: Edgar; Craig’s pick: Edgar

CORY SANDHAGEN AGAIN! The heavy favorite stunned UFC legend Frankie Edgar with a flying knee early in the fight. Edgar had no time to react and was immediately knocked out. The announcing crew of Dominick Cruz, Daniel Cormier and Brendan Fitzgerald were left speechless as Edgar lay on the canvas. Sandhagen, who earned a second straight highlight-rell knockout, cemented his position as next in line for a bantamweight title shot with the spectacular first-round win. “I was excited to show off my wrestling skills because everyone knows I suck at that,” Sandhagen said in the postfight interview with Daniel Cormier.

Heavyweight

Alexander Volkov (-197) def. Alistair Overeem by knockout (R2, 2:06)

Props: by knockout (+114); under 1.5 (+170)

Matt’s pick: Volkov; Craig’s pick: Overeem

Alexander Volkov put his name among the heavyweight title contenders with a dominating knocout victory over Alistair Overeem. He pieced up Overeem on the feet in the first round, cutting the Dutchman as he went into a shell on the fence. In the second round, he caught Overeem cold with a left hand that pierced the guard and put him on the canvas forcing Jason Herzog to call an end to the fight.

Scorecard

Total Fights: 12

Ended by decision: 7

Ended by submission: 1

Ended by knockout: 4

Matt’s picks: 8-4 (2021: 32-15); Craig’s picks: 7-5 (2021: 27-20)

Underdogs: 4-8

Biggest underdog winner: Danilo Marques (+194)

Biggest prop hit: Danilo Marques by submission (+500)

Performance bonuses ($50,000 each): Cory Sandhagen, Alexander Volkov, Diego Ferreira, Beneil Dariush