On Saturday, March 17, the UFC returned to the O2 Arena in London, England, for UFC Fight Night 127: Werdum vs. Volkov.
The main event featured perennial top-five heavyweight Fabricio Werdum against the surging Alexander Volkov. Werdum had won three out of his last four fights. The Brazilian seemed primed to finally receive a rematch with Stipe Miocic for the UFC heavyweight title, but only if he got past Volkov. This was not an easy task. The Russian was undefeated in his three-fight UFC career, with wins over the likes of Roy Nelson and Stefan Struve. Volkov was also a former Bellator heavyweight champion, so he was definitely more than just a stepping stone for Werdum to finally receive another title shot. In the fourth round, Volkov poured on the heat and stopped the Brazilian by knockout.
The co-headliner was an actual rematch. Jimi Manuwa and Jan Błachowicz ran it back from their first meeting in 2015. Manuwa was coming off a first-round knockout loss to former light heavyweight title contender Volkan Oezdemir, but he was still very much in the mix in the title conversation for a shallow 205-pound division. Manuwa edged out Błachowicz on the scorecards in their first meeting, but Błachowicz took the decision on Saturday night.
Jan Błachowicz def. Jimi Manuwa by decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
Tom Duquesnoy def. Terrion Ware by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
Leon Edwards def. Peter Sobotta by TKO (strikes). Round 3, 4:59
Charles Byrd def. John Phillips by submission (rear-naked choke). Round 1, 3:58
Danny Roberts def. Oliver Enkamp by knockout (punch). Round 1, 2:12
Danny Henry def. Hakeem Dawodu by submission (guillotine choke). Round 1, 0:39
Paul Craig def. Magomed Ankalaev by submission (triangle choke). Round 3, 4:59
Kajan Johnson def. Stevie Ray by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Dmitry Sosnovskiy def. Mark Godbeer by submission (rear-naked choke). Round 2, 4:29