With decades into his job as UFC’s head honcho, it’s almost become normal for Dana White to see many of his fight plans falling off, and in 2025, it’s no different. After reports surfaced that the main event plans for UFC 316 and UFC 317 were in jeopardy, the 55-year-old has now suffered a blow when it comes to a Fight Night event as UFC returns to Atlanta, Georgia. This time, the dark clouds of uncertainty are hovering above a heavyweight bout that could get scrapped. The UFC has been trying to book Alexander Volkov against Jailton Almeida for a while now.
A fight that was initially meant to take place inside the Prudential Center in Newark at UFC 302 was recently reported to have been in the works for UFC Atlanta on June 14. While it’s not sure what spot the fight would have on the card, there hasn’t been any official word on this taking place during the Summer. But it appears that the speculations were true after all. The Brazilian recently revealed, in a now-deleted tweet, that Dana White, the UFC brass, he, and Alexander Volkov were indeed having conversations and discussions about a potential matchup on June 14.
Both are top-ranked contenders, and a win for ‘Malhadinho’ could very well put him in a great place. That fight is not only his ticket to the top 5, as he now sits at #6, but it could also put him in line for a world title shot. But there’s a slight issue at hand! According to the Brazilian ground game expert, Alexander Volkov isn’t quite ready to step back inside the cage. Is he injured? Is he engaged in other commitments? Well, Almeida didn’t give us those answers, but he did mention that ‘Drago’ has promised to step inside the Octagon with his rival when summer ends. “I’ve been told that Volkov can’t fight now, but he’s accept to fight on fall,” Almeida wrote on X before deleting the post.
The first question that comes to mind after hearing what the Brazilian star had to say is why did he delete that tweet? Did Dana White ask him to keep it confidential? Or was he trying to grab some attention for the fight? We don’t have those answers yet because it’s not unusual for fighters to delete their posts just minutes after they’ve posted them online. Besides, it should not come as a surprise that White wasn’t going to get this fight to happen because the Russian native had already cleared their air a couple of weeks ago. Let’s take a look at that front.
Dana White already got the answer from Alexander Volkov for UFC Atlanta
Jailton Almeida is on a roll in his UFC run. With an 8-1 record in the promotion, he just needs one fight to join the elite heavyweights, which is why he wants to fight Alexander Volkov, who’s ranked #3. But the Russian star isn’t too keen on risking it all with a 6th-ranked fighter because he’s looking for a fight up the ladder. Last year, he was even paired up with Ciryl Gane at UFC 310, who’s ranked 2nd in the heavyweight division, but he lost that fight by a very controversial decision.
So maybe a rematch against the Frenchman makes sense to him. Despite Almeida claiming to have agreed with the UFC fight ‘Drago’, the 3rd-ranked fighter is looking for “an interesting offer” from Dana White. “I don’t plan to fight Almeida in July yet. Why? Because I don’t see any point in fighting the 6th-ranked fighter,” Alexander Volkov stated in a video on social media. “Whoever sees the point, tell me why. It’s only a fight for the sake of a fight. Let’s wait for a more interesting offer.”
Well, fighters don’t want to fight more than they have to and are always looking for fights that make sense. While some love the thrill of fights, others are always looking to climb up the ladder with each fight they compete in. That seems to be what Volkov is looking for. Well, we’re still weeks away from UFC Atlanta, and it will be interesting to see how Dana White navigates this situation.
But if we believe the Brazilian’s claims, then Volkov has assured that he will fight Almedia later in the year. How do you see this shaping out before we get to June 14? Drop your comments below.
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