Alexander Volkov and Jailton Almeida are building up plenty of bad blood. But will it lead to an in-octagon collision?
Not if Volkov has anything to say about it. The longtime UFC heavyweight contender took to social media to address a bout rumored (per MMA reporter Léo Guimaraes) to take place at a UFC event in Atlanta on June 14.
Volkov is No. 3 at heavyweight in the UFC’s official rankings, with Almeida three spots behind at No. 6. According to Volkov, it doesn’t make sense for him to fight Almeida given where they currently stand.
Alexander Volkov reacts to rumors of a fight between him and Jailton Almeida being in the works:“I don’t plan to fight Almeida in July yet. Why? Because I don’t see any point in fighting the 6th ranked fighter…
Let’s wait for a more interesting offer.”
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) April 3, 2025
MMA Fighting’s Guilherme Cruz has confirmed that while Almeida’s side is interested in making the bout happen, Volkov’s team is yet to sign on.
Almeida can’t make it clearer he wants a fight with Volkov as he took to social media to respond to Volkov’s comments.
I already said yes to the UFC! And you Volkov? June, 14. Atlanta Georgia!
I just wanna fight! This talk about ranking positions dont make sense, you just didnt fight me and you are coming from a defeat, thats the only fight avaiable@Mickmaynard2 @AlexDragoVolkov— Jailton Almeida “Malhadinho” (@Malhadinho_UFC) April 3, 2025
“I already said yes to the UFC,” Almeida wrote. “And you, Volkov? June 14, Atlanta, Georgia. I just wanna fight. This talk about ranking positions don’t make sense, you just didn’t fight me and you are coming from a defeat. That’s the only fight available.”
Almeida is currently on a two-fight win streak, with back-to-back first-round finishes of Serghei Spivac and Alexander Romanov. As he pointed out, Volkov is coming off of a split decision loss to Ciryl Gane that ended a run of four consecutive victories for the Russian veteran.
See more comments from Almeida below, in which he suggests that if Volkov isn’t willing to defend his spot in the rankings, then the spot should be forfeited.
By the way, talk about beat me dont move him on the rankings dont make sense, Blaydes beat me and fought for the title, everyone knows that im a tough fight, so if Volkov beats me, he will fight for the title, the question is:He believe he can beat me?
— Jailton Almeida “Malhadinho” (@Malhadinho_UFC) April 3, 2025
By the way, talk about beat me don’t move him on the rankings don’t make sense, Blaydes beat me and fought for the title, everyone knows that I’m a tough fight, so if Volkov beats me, he will fight for the title, the question is:
He believe he can beat me?
For the guys who make the UFC rankings, we need to punish the fighters who refuse on fights. In that specific case, if Volkov refuse to fight me, i desearve to move ahead of him in the rankings#3 Almeida ✅
#6 Volkov ✅— Jailton Almeida “Malhadinho” (@Malhadinho_UFC) April 3, 2025
For the guys who make the UFC rankings, we need to punish the fighters who refuse on fights. In that specific case, if Volkov refuse to fight me, I deserve to move ahead of him in the rankings
#3 Almeida
#6 Volkov
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