Alexander Volkov meets Alexandr Romanov in heavyweight clash at UFC Vegas 71

A battle between heavyweight Alexanders is coming to Las Vegas.

Alexander Volkov is slated to face rising prospect Alexandr Romanov on at UFC Vegas 71, the UFC announced Thursday. The bout was first reported by Marcel Dorff.

A former Bellator and M-1 heavyweight champion, Volkov (35-10) is currently the No. 8 ranked heavyweight in the MMA Fighting Global Rankings and has been a staple of the UFC since joining the promotion in 2016. Amassing a 9-4 record in the promotion, Volkov holds notable victories over Fabricio Werdum, Alistair Overeem, and Marcin Tybura. Most recently, Volkov defeated the No. 11 ranked Jairzinho Rozenstruik in the headliner of a Fight Night event, and he looks to make it two in a row with a win over Romanov.

Romanov (16-1) is one of the more exciting prospects to enter the UFC’s heavyweight division in the past few years. Joining the promotion in 2020, Romanov quickly put together a five-fight winning streak that included three submission wins. Unfortunately for Romanov, his most recent outing was not as successful — he suffered his first career defeat with a majority decision loss to Marcin Tybura at UFC 278. Now the No. 12 ranked heavyweight looks to get back on the winning track against Volkov.

UFC Vegas 71 takes place March 11 at The Theater at Virgin Hotels in Las Vegas, and will be headlined by a bantamweight matchup between Petr Yan and Merab Dvalishvili.