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The run of events at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas continues Saturday night with UFC on ESPN 11.
The cards put on by the promotion since the schedule resumed in late April have run the gamut from the exciting to, well, the considerably less than exciting. That’s simply how things will play out in a mad scramble to put together shows amid all sorts of coronavirus pandemic-related restrictions at a time the company is laser-focused on getting in its full slate of 2020 cards.
This time around, we can say with confidence the card, on paper, appears to be solid from top to bottom, with plenty of reason to tune in from the opening fight on up to the main event.
In the that main event, an important heavyweight bout will take place as the division rounds back into shape, with [autotag]Curtis Blaydes[/autotag], who has been knocking on the door awhile, taking on former Bellator champion [autotag]Alexander Volkov[/autotag].
Without further ado, here are five burning questions heading into UFC on ESPN 11.
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Where will the Blaydes-Volkov winner land?
Imagine, for a moment, that Volkov (31-7 MMA, 5-1 UFC) doesn’t lose focus during the closing seconds of a UFC 229 fight with Derrick Lewis he had all but sealed. Had Lewis not landed a buzzer-beater knockout, Volkov would be on an eight-fight win streak, six in the UFC, and no doubt high in the title mix.
As for Blaydes (13-2 MMA, 8-2 UFC)? Well, there’s no doubt about his “what if:” Blaydes is 8-2 in the UFC, and both of those losses have come to Francis Ngannou, which isn’t exactly a pair of defeats for which one should be ashamed.
The top of the heavyweight division is once again coming back online, with champion Stipe Miocic and former titleholder Daniel Cormier set to meet Aug. 15. Presumably, Ngannou is next in line now that the mania of a potential Jon Jones fight has come and gone.
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Blaydes is coming off his biggest career win with an impressive second-round stoppage of former champ Junior Dos Santos in January. Volkov shook off his shocking loss to Lewis, defeated Greg Hardy in November, and can prove he’s still a face near the top of the division with a win.
The winner of this fight isn’t going to vault ahead of Ngannou in the pecking order, but a strong performance here could put the winner in position to get into position should anything go awry in the UFC’s title plans.