November 2, 2024

Fabricio Werdum vs. Alexey Oleynik set to headline UFC Moscow

MMAfighting.com

The UFC’s inaugural event in Russia will be headlined by a grappler’s delight of a fight.

A heavyweight matchup between former UFC champion Fabricio Werdum and Ukranian-Russian mat wizard Alexey Oleynik is set to headline UFC Moscow on Sept. 15. MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani reported the matchup Monday afternoon on The MMA Hour.

Werdum (23-8-1) called out Oleynik on Twitter following Oleynik’s recent first-round ezekiel choke victory over Junior Albini at UFC 224. The two heavyweight veterans share a combined 55 wins via submission between them.

A former UFC heavyweight titleholder, Werdum saw his two-fight winning streak halted in March when he suffered a fourth-round knockout loss to Alexander Volkov at UFC London. In total, the 40-year-old “Vai Cavalo” has racked up a 3-2 record since losing his title to Stipe Miocic in 2016, sandwiching wins over Travis BrowneWalt Harris, and Marcin Tybura between setbacks to Alistair Overeem and the aforementioned Volkov.

Oleynik (56-11-1), meanwhile, has been a surprising success story since beginning his Octagon run in 2014. The 40-year-old veteran has won five of his seven UFC outings, all of which ended via stoppage. His affinity for rarely-seen MMA submissions has resulted in two UFC ezekiel chokes (Albini and Viktor Pesta) and one scarf-hold headlock (Anthony Hamilton), joining an Octagon résumé that also includes a rear-naked choke victory over Browne and and first-round knockout of Jared Rosholt.

UFC Moscow takes place at the Olympic Stadium in Moscow, Russia.

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