UFC on ESPN 11 results: Curtis Blaydes schools Alexander Volkov on mat to win fourth straight

Curtis Blaydes continues steamrolling any heavyweight opposition in the UFC not named Francis Ngannou.

The Chicago standout had one of his most impressive victories to date Saturday night as he overwhelmed former Bellator champion Alexander Volkov for the better part of 25 minutes in the main event of UFC on ESPN 11.

Blaydes went the distance — win or lose — for the first time in his career and set a UFC heavyweight record with 14 takedowns along the way as he earned a unanimous decision. The judges’ scores at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas were 49-46, 48-47, 49-46.

It was the fourth straight win for Blaydes, whose only UFC defeats in 11 fights were a pair to Ngannou.

“It was a good experience to go 25 minutes,” Blaydes said. “I know there are things I gotta work on, but a win is a win. I know I need to work on my conditioning after the third round. I’m happy with the win. Volkov is legit.”

Blaydes (14-2 MMA, 9-2 UFC) wasted little time taking Volkov (31-8 MMA,  5-2 UFC) to the mat early in the opening round, and that was the beginning of what must have seemed like a slow-motion nightmare for his Russian foe. Blaydes stayed on Volkov’s back like an oversized Khabib Nurmagomedov, dragging him back to the mat every time Volkov got to his feet.

In the second, Volkov attempted to use his reach advantage to implement his striking game. But Blaydes fearlessly waded in and popped Volkov with an overhand, then resumed his ground assault.

It turned into a rinse-and-repeat performance, as Blaydes scored takedowns early in the third and fourth. His 12th takedown of the fight, two minutes into Round 4, set a new UFC record for takedowns in a heavyweight bout.

With a minute left in the fourth, referee Herb Dean called for a curious standup. Volkov had his best moments of the fight, landing solid knees and scoring a takedown.

Blaydes appeared tired at the start of the fifth, and Volkov did his best to steal the win. But Blaydes regrouped and scored two more takedowns, bringing his UFC career total to 59, to seal the deal.

Volkov has dropped two of his past three.

Complete results from UFC on ESPN 11:

• Curtis Blaydes def. Alexander Volkov via unanimous decision (49-46, 48-47, 49-46)
• Josh Emmett def. Shane Burgos via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-27)
• Raquel Pennington def. Marion Reneau via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
• Jim Miller def. Roosevelt Roberts via submission (armbar) — Round 1, 2:25
• Bobby Green def. Clay Guida via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
• Tecia Torres def. Brianna Van Buren via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Marc-Andre Barriault def. Oskar Piechota via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 4:50
• Gillian Robertson def. Cortney Casey via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 3, 4:32
• Justin Jaynes def. Frank Camacho via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 0:41
• Lauren Murphy def. Roxanne Modafferi via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
• Austin Hubbard def. Max Rohskopf via TKO (doctor stoppage) – Round 2, 5:00