A top-10 Heavyweight fight took center stage at UFC Saint Petersburg Saturday, with over 100 pro fights between the two combatants.
--@OleynikUFC w/ the early attack!#UFCStPetersburg pic.twitter.com/Lrrgz3DjkN
— UFC (@ufc) April 20, 2019
Aleskei Oleinik took the main event fight on short notice, taking the bout against the legendary Alistair Overeem. An Oleinik overhand right early on set up heavy body punches without a ton of technique, all of this after pulling guard to set up his signature Ezekiel choke didn't work out.
KNEES by @AlistairOverem! pic.twitter.com/Rj9OsIaU4X
— UFC (@ufc) April 20, 2019
Overeem picked his spots after eating dozens of strikes. It suspiciously looked like the old rope-a-dope method, which proved to be true. With a fraction of the offense, Overeem crumpled Oleinik with knees and would follow up with nasty ground and pound that signaled the end of the fight.
#TheReem with the first round finish!@AlistairOvereem #UFCStPetersburg pic.twitter.com/T6r1f3WcoP
— UFC (@ufc) April 20, 2019
With his victory, Overeem has now won two fights in a row, four of his last six, and eight of his last 11. Overeem said prior to the fight that Oleinik was a friend of his, and that he didn't really want to take the fight. He called out Alexander Volkov, whom he was scheduled to face originally.
Elsewhere on the show in other top-15 fights, #13 Shamil Abdurakhimov defeated #10 Marcin Tybura in round 2 via TKO, while #7 Roxanne Modafferi def. #12 Antonina Shevchenko by split decision in a fight that probably shouldn't have been ruled in Antonina's favor.
You can see our full, live coverage of UFC Saint Petersburg at this link, and our post-show wrap up at this link.
