Alexander Volkov-Alistair Overeem to Headline April UFC Event in St. Petersburg

Russia, get ready!

The Octagon makes its debut at #UFCStPetersburg April 20!

Advertisement

pic.twitter.com/cvwQOEV7G9

— UFC (@ufc) February 22, 2019

You can sign up for a free seven-day trial of ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream UFC on ESPN+ live on your computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app.

The Ultimate Fighting Championship is heading back to Russia in 2019, taking a trip to St. Petersburg, Russia, with an event headlined by Alexander Volkov and Alistair Overeem.

In their official press release, the organization confirmed that they would be heading to St. Petersburg, Russia, on April 20 at the Yubileyny Sports Complex. The event, UFC Fight Night 149, or UFC on ESPN+ 7, will broadcast in its entirety on ESPN+, and tickets are set to go on sale on March 1. Headlining the card will be a heavyweight slugfest between Russian Alexander Volkov (30-7) and former title challenger Alistair Overeem (44-17, 1 NC).

The promotion also announced three other matchups for the event, including two more heavyweight bouts in Marcin Tybura (17-4) vs. Shamil Abdurakhimov (19-4) and Sergei Pavlovich (12-1) vs. Marcelo Golm (6-2). They also confirmed the earlier report about Roxanne Modafferi (22-15) meeting Antonina Shevchenko (7-0) in women's flyweight division.

The UFC previously made its debut in Russia at UFC Fight Night 136 in Moscow, also headlined by heavyweights. In the main event, Alexey Oleynik submitted Mark Hunt in the first round with a rear-naked choke.

Volkov had his six-fight win streak snapped when he lost to Derrick Lewis's shocking come-from-behind knockout with 11 seconds left in the bout at UFC 229 last October. A knockout artist by trade, 20 of the former Bellator MMA heavyweight champ's 30 career victories have come by strikes.

"The Demolition Man" rebounded from a two-fight knockout losing streak with a huge knockout of fellow UFC Fight Night 149 competitor Sergei Pavlovich at UFC Fight Night 141 last November. A true finisher, Overeem has only reached the scorecards in eight of his 52 career bouts, and recorded 39 of his 44 career victories by stoppage.

UFC Fight Night 149 Announced Lineup

Alexander Volkov (30-7) vs. Alistair Overeem (44-17, 1 NC)
Marcin Tybura (17-4) vs. Shamil Abdurakhimov (19-4)
Sergei Pavlovich (12-1) vs. Marcelo Golm (6-2)
Roxanne Modafferi (22-15) vs. Antonina Shevchenko (7-0)
Sultan Aliev (14-3) vs. Emil Meek (9-4-1, 1 NC)
Teemu Packalen (8-2) vs. Alexander Yakovlev (23-8-1)