UFC 321 books Alexander Volkov vs. Jailton Almeida, a key heavyweight showdown
Top contenders Alexander Volkov and Jailton Almeida are finally set to fight at UFC 321. The event takes place Oct. 26 at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi.
Two people with knowledge of the matchup recently informed MMA Junkie of the booking but asked to remain anonymous as the promotion has yet to make an official announcement. MMAFighting.com first reported the booking.
Both Volkov (38-11 MMA, 12- UFC) and Almeida (13-2 MMA, 10-2 UFC) recently expressed interest in fighting one another in interviews with MMA Junkie. Almeida claimed Volkov turned him down for a June clash in Atlanta – something Volkov didn't deny. Volkov said his declination came because he wanted a break from competition after a controversial loss to Gane in December.
The defeat to Gane snapped a four-fight winning streak for Volkov, who could've aligned himself in prime position for a title shot had he won.
As for Almeida, he's won back-to-back fights over Alexandr Romanov and Serghei Spivac since his TKO loss to Curtis Blaydes in March 2024. Almeida is 5-1 with four finishes since he moved to heavyweight in late 2022.
With the addition, the UFC 321 lineup includes:
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
42 minutes ago
Max Holloway retains UFC BMF title, spoils Dustin Poirier's retirement fight
NEW ORLEANS -- Max Holloway said he wanted to play spoiler and he did it Saturday night in the main event. Holloway defeated Dustin Poirier in a unanimous decision to retain the UFC BMF Championship in UFC 318 at the Smoothie King Center. The win for Holloway is the first in three fights against Poirier, who beat him in 2012 and 2019. Holloway (28-8) retained his BMF title after landing 98 more strikes (201-109) and landing 53% of his significant strikes. Fighting against a partisan Louisiana crowd for the native son Poirier in his retirement match, Holloway was the quicker fighter for the entire match, knocking Poirier off his feet early in the first round. In the second, another flurry of combinations put Poirier on the mat again, followed by two minutes of dominant grappling. Poirier's best chance came in the last 30 seconds of the second round, getting Holloway on the ground with a chokehold and several ground punches before the round ended. The loss ends a brilliant career for Poirier, who finishes his career with a 30-10 record. Poirier, the UFC Lightweight Interim Champion in 2019, also defeated the likes of Connor McGregor twice in addition to victories over Justin Gaethje and Michael Chandler. In the co-main event, Paulo Costa (15-4) snapped a three-match losing streak, defeating Roman Kopylov for a middleweight division win by a unanimous decision. Daniel Rodriguez (20-5) won his third consecutive fight after a unanimous decision over Kevin Holland in welterweight action in a significant upset. Rodriguez was +425 to win the fight, but beat Holland (28-14), who lost his second fight of 2025. In the featherweight division, Patricio Freire beat Dan Ige by a unanimous decision. Freire (37-8) dominated the three-round fight, taking down Ige five times. The five-fight main card opened with a unanimous decision upset win by Michael Johnson over Daniel Zellhuber in the lightweight action. Johnson opened the fight +475 according to Bet MGM. Johnson (25-19) landed 81 strikes compared to only 52 from Zellhuber as he won his third consecutive fight. ___
Washington Post
an hour ago
- Washington Post
Max Holloway retains UFC BMF title, spoils Dustin Poirier's retirement fight
NEW ORLEANS — Max Holloway said he wanted to play spoiler and he did it Saturday night in the main event. Holloway defeated Dustin Poirier in a unanimous decision to retain the UFC BMF Championship in UFC 318 at the Smoothie King Center. The win for Holloway is the first in three fights against Poirier, who beat him in 2012 and 2019.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
'One of the greatest': Dustin Poirier's UFC 318 retirement prompts sea of tributes from MMA's best
Dustin Poirier may not have gone out on top, but he retired a legend nonetheless. The former UFC interim lightweight champion — and all-time great action fighter — called it a career on Saturday night after falling short in his Louisiana homecoming against Max Holloway in the main event of UFC 318. Despite coming into the bout up 2-0 in his series with Holloway, Poirier closed out his UFC run with a unanimous decision loss (48-47, 49-46, 49-46) in another back-and-forth brawl that nevertheless served as a worthy and emotional sendoff for the longtime fan favorite. Poirier, 36, hangs up his gloves as one of the most celebrated fighters of his era. Despite never capturing an undisputed UFC title, "The Diamond" strung together a Hall of Fame résumé over the course of a 14-year Octagon career, defeating a legendary list of top fighters across two divisions. Poirier's catalog of conquests include Conor McGregor (x2), Eddie Alvarez, Justin Gaethje, Anthony Pettis and Dan Hooker, among many others. He also exits the sport tied for the fourth-most post-fight bonuses in UFC history (15), tied for the fifth-most finishes in UFC history (15), tied for most the finishes of current/former/future UFC champions (6), and tied for the sixth-most wins in UFC history (22) — a slew of records that speak to his uncommon longevity atop the game's most talent-rich divisions. Following his emotional farewell, a wave of Poirier's peers within the fighting community paid tribute to "The Diamond" and the vast body of work he contributed to the game. For full coverage of UFC 318, including live results, play-by-play and highlights of the entire Dustin Poirier vs. Max Holloway 3 pay-per-view card, check out Uncrowned's UFC 318 hub.
