Alistair Ovoreem Demolishes Aleksei Oleinik, Islam Makhachev Earns Fifth Win in a Row at UFC in Russia
Alistair Overeem earned his second win in a row with a punishing performance against Aleksei Oleinik in the main event at UFC Fight Night from Saint Petersburg, Russia.
After original opponent Alexander Volkov was unable to compete this weekend, Oleinik accepted the short notice opportunity to fight at home in Russia.
He gave a valiant effort in defeat but the end came just the same as Overeem earned his second consecutive first round finish.
As the action got started in the opening round, Oleinik almost immediately pulled guard and attempted to apply his suffocating submission game where he’s wrapped up a number of Ezekiel chokes throughout his career.
This time around, Overeem was ready for his tricks and he patiently worked his way free before getting back to his feet for a reset.
While he’s not known for his striking prowess, Oleinik still plowed forward with some huge punches including one overhand right that clipped Overeem and it appeared for a moment if the former heavyweight title contender was wobbled.
It turns out, Overeem was just biding his time as he essentially invited Oleinik to unload on him with punches as he continued to block the majority of the shots while watching his opponent’s gas tank drain with every shot fired.
Once Overeem found an opening, he took advantage of Oleinik constantly pressing forward into the clinch by unleashing a series of knee strikes that began chipping away at the veteran Russian heavyweight.
As the barrage continued, Overeem started connecting to the head and with a series of nasty knees in succession, Oleinik began fading. Finally one last knee to the head dropped Oleinik to the ground where Overeem followed in order to get the finish.
KNEES by @AlistairOverem! pic.twitter.com/Rj9OsIaU4X
— UFC (@ufc) April 20, 2019
Overeem began hammering away with punches and then one last elbow that came down like a missile on Oleinik’s head forced referee Marc Goddard to stop the fight at 4:45 into the opening round.
#TheReem with the first round finish!@AlistairOvereem #UFCStPetersburg pic.twitter.com/T6r1f3WcoP
— UFC (@ufc) April 20, 2019
Following his latest win, Overeem said he would like to return in September and he definitely wouldn’t mind a showdown against the man he was supposed to face on Saturday in Russia.
“Well I was originally scheduled to fight Alexander Volkov,” Overeem said. “The fight did not happen tonight but I’m very open to that fight in the future.”
In the co-main event, Islam Makhachev earned his fifth win in a row overall but he had a battle on his hands with newcomer Arman Tsarukyan.
Throughout the three round battle, Makhachev had to out grapple Tsarukyan while fending off several takedown attempts from his opponent, who was incredibly adept at scrambling out of bad situations throughout the fight.
The exchanges between the two lightweights on the ground and from the clinch were non-stop action throughout but it was Makhachev who ultimately gained the bigger advantage with his power wrestling game.
In the end, Makhachev earned the unanimous decision victory but both athletes will enjoy a bonus after being awarded the ‘Fight of the Night’ in Russia with each getting an extra $50,000.
Here are the full results from the main card at UFC Fight Night in Saint Petersburg, Russia
Alistair Overeem def. Alexey Oleynik by TKO (knees and punches) at 4:45, R1
Islam Makhachev def. Arman Tsarukyan by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Sergei Pavlovichv def. Marcelo Golm by KO (punches) at 1:06, R1
Roxanne Modafferi def. Antonina Shevchenko by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Krzysztof Jotko def. Alen Amedovski by unanimous decision (30-25, 30-26, 30-26)
