UFC Fight Night 127 pre-event facts: Alexander Volkov perfect in post-Bellator run

The UFC makes its annual stop in England on Saturday when UFC Fight Night 127 takes place at The O2 in London with a UFC Fight Pass-streamed card.

Former UFC heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum (23-7-1 MMA, 11-4 UFC) makes another quick turnaround at the event. “Vai Cavalo” steps in the octagon for the fourth time in eight months when he takes on Alexander Volkov (29-6 MMA, 3-0 UFC), who is unbeaten over the past three years.

Outside of the main event, the card features its fair share of British talent, along with five promotional newcomers. For more on the numbers behind the UFC’s 10th fight card in London, check below for 35 pre-event facts about UFC Fight Night 127.

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Main event

Fabricio Werdum

Werdum, 40, is the oldest of the 24 fighters scheduled to compete at the event.

Werdum is the second-oldest active fighter in UFC heavyweight division behind Mark Hunt (43).

Werdum competes in his second UFC headliner since November.

Werdum is 9-2 since he returned to the UFC for a second stint in February 2012.

Werdum’s five submission victories in UFC/Strikeforce heavyweight competition are tied for second most in combined divisional history behind fellow ex-champ Frank Mir (eight).

Werdum and Marcin Tybura combined for 282 significant strikes landed at UFC Fight Night 121, the single-fight record for a UFC heavyweight bout.

Werdum has landed 785 significant strikes in UFC heavyweight competition, the second most in divisional history behind Junior Dos Santos (899).

Alexander Volkov

Volkov’s three-fight UFC winning streak in heavyweight competition is tied with Curtis Blaydes and Justin Ledet for the second longest active streak in the division behind reigning champ Stipe Miocic (six).

Volkov is a former Bellator heavyweight champion.

Volkov is 5-0 since his final Bellator bout in June 2015.

Volkov has earned 22 of his 29 career victories by stoppage.

Co-main event

Jimi Manuwa

Jimi Manuwa (17-3 MMA, 6-3 UFC) has earned all but one of his career victories by stoppage. He’s finished 11 of those wins in Round 1.

Manuwa has earned five of his six UFC victories by stoppage.

Manuwa is the only fighter in UFC history to earn two consecutive victories by stoppage at the 5:00 mark of a round.

Manuwa is the only fighter in UFC history with three victories due to an opponent’s injury.

Manuwa has suffered all three of his career losses by knockout.

Jan Blachowicz

Manuwa meets Jan Blachowicz (21-7 MMA, 4-4 UFC) in a rematch of a fight from UFC Fight Night 64 in April 2017, which he won by unanimous decision.

Blachowicz’s two-fight UFC winning streak in light-heavyweight competition is tied for the third longest active streak in the division behind Mauricio Rua (five) and Jordan Johnson (three).

Blachowicz is one of two light heavyweights in UFC history to earn a knockout stemming from a body kick. He accomplished the feat against Ilir Latifi at UFC Fight Night 53.

Remaining main card

Tom Duquesnoy (15-2 MMA, 1-1 UFC) has earned 12 of his 15 career victories by stoppage.

Leon Edwards

Leon Edwards’ (14-3 MMA, 6-2 UFC) five-fight UFC winning streak in welterweight competition is the fourth longest active streak in the division behind Kamaru Usman (seven), Santiago Ponzinibbio (six) and Colby Covington (five).

Edwards’ eight-second knockout of Seth Baczynski at UFC Fight Night 64 is the second fastest in UFC welterweight history. Duane Ludwig holds the record with his six-second finish of Jonathan Goulet at UFC Fight Night 3 in January 2006.

Peter Sobotta (17-5-1 MMA, 4-4 UFC) is 4-1 since he returned to the UFC for a second stint in May 2014.

Sobotta is 9-1-1 since his original release from the UFC in November 2010.

Preliminary card

John Phillips (21-6 MMA, 0-0 UFC) has earned all 21 of his career victories by stoppage. He’s finished 18 of those wins by knockout.

Danny Roberts

Danny Roberts (14-3 MMA, 3-2 UFC) attempts 2.5 submissions per 15 minutes of fighting in UFC welterweight competition, the highest rate among active fighters in the weight class.

Jack Marshman (22-7 MMA, 2-2 UFC) drops to the welterweight division for the first time in his career after spending his previous 29 fights at middleweight or heavier.

Bradley Scott (11-5 MMA, 3-4 UFC) returns to the welterweight division for the first time since December 2012.

Scott has alternated wins and losses over his past eight fights. He dropped his most recent bout at UFC Fight Night 114 in August.

Paul Craig

Paul Craig (9-2 MMA, 1-2 UFC) has suffered consecutive knockout losses after starting his career on a nine-fight winning streak.

Dmitriy Sosnovskiy (10-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) returns to competition for the first time since May 16, 2015. The 1,036-day layoff is the longest of his career.

Kajan Johnson (21-11-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC) is 10-2-1 since his loss to Rory MacDonald in December 2007.

Nasrat Haqparast (8-2 MMA, 0-1 UFC), 22, is the youngest of the 24 fighters scheduled to compete at the event.

Haqparast has earned all eight of his career victories by knockout. He’s earned six of his wins in Round 1.

For more on UFC Fight Night 127, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.

FightMetric research analyst and live statistics producer Michael Carroll contributed to this story. Follow him on Twitter @MJCflipdascript.