UFC Fight Night 127 in London Finally Gets Headliner With Fabricio Werdum vs. Alexander Volkov

The Ultimate Fighting Championship’s return to London finally has a main event.

UFC Fight Night 127 will be headlined by a clash between former UFC heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum and former Bellator MMA heavyweight kingpin Alexander Volkov. The promotion announced the main event on Thursday.

The card, scheduled for March 17 at London’s O2 Arena, has desperately needed a main event for weeks. The UFC’s struggle to find a suitable headliner was intensified when former middleweight titleholder Michael Bisping said he wouldn’t be competing on the card late last month.

The 40-year-old Werdum had a unique renaissance in late 2017. After his rubber match loss to Alistair Overeem via majority decision at UFC 213 last July, he was 1-2 in his last three bouts. He was set to meet Derrick Lewis at UFC 216 in October, but wound up getting a 65-second payday for armbarring fight-day replacement Walt Harris after Lewis pulled out due to a bulging disc in his back. “Vai Cavalo” followed up by dominating 25 minutes against Polish standout Marcin Tybura last November.

Volkov, 29, exited Bellator in late 2015 after back-to-back decision losses to Tony Johnson and Cheick Kongo. Since then, the Russian is 5-0, including a trio of wins in the Octagon. After grabbing decisions over Timothy Johnson and Roy Nelson, Volvo clobbered Stefan Struve in the third round at UFC Fight Night 115 in Rotterdam, Netherlands last September.