Curtis Blaydes vs. Alexander Volkov to headline UFC Saskatoon in June

The UFC’s has it’s main event for their first trip to Canada of 2020, as Curtis Blaydes will battle Alexander Volkov in a heavyweight matchup.

The UFC will return to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan on June 20 and according to Russian outlet Sports.ru Blaydes and Volkov will serve as the main event. ESPN’s Brett Okamoto confirmed the bout was set.

Confirmed via sources the plan is for Curtis Blaydes (@RazorBlaydes265) and Alexander Volkov (@AlexDragoVolkov) to headline UFC Fight Night Saskatoon in June. Obviously, Blaydes feels he's ready for a title shot but the division remains in flux and he wanted to stay active.

— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) March 5, 2020

“Confirmed via sources the plan is for Curtis Blaydes (@RazorBlaydes265) and Alexander Volkov (@AlexDragoVolkov) to headline UFC Fight Night Saskatoon in June. Obviously, Blaydes feels he’s ready for a title shot but the division remains in flux and he wanted to stay active,” he tweeted.

As Okamoto says Curtis Blaydes is using this fight to stay busy. The heavyweight division has become stagnant with Stipe Miocic out due to injury. Once he becomes healthy, the UFC’s plan is to book Stipe Miocic vs Daniel Cormier 3 sometime later this year.

Given Francis Ngannou is also fighting Jairzinho Rozenstruik at UFC Columbus in March, they seem to be next in line for the belt. So, for both Blaydes and Volkov they may need to win this and one more to earn a title shot.

Curtis Blaydes is entering this fight riding a three-fight winning streak. Last time out headlined UFC Raleigh where he TKO’d Junior dos Santos. Before that, he TKO’d Shamil Abdurakhimov and beat Justin Willis by decision. In the UFC, “Razor” is 8-2 and one no-contest. But, he has two losses to Ngannou that has halted his rise up the division and getting a title shot. The American is currently ranked third in the division.

Alexander Volkov, meanwhile, returned to the win column last time out with a dominant decision win over Greg Hardy. Before that, he suffered a shocking knockout loss to Derrick Lewis with just seconds left at UFC 229. The Russian is currently ranked seventh.

Who do you think will win the main event scrap between Curtis Blaydes and Alexander Volkov at UFC Saskatoon? Sound off in the comment section, PENN Nation!

This article first appeared on BJPENN.com on 3/5/2020.