No juice.
No. 4-ranked Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Heavyweight Alexander Volkov returns to action against surging contender Rizvan Kuniev on the UFC 333 main card this weekend (Sat., Oct. 24, 2026) inside Etihad Arena on “Fight Island” in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
Instead of receiving his long-awaited Heavyweight title shot, Volkov is once again being asked to defend his ranking against a lower-ranked opponent.
Kuniev looked extremely dominant in his latest outing, but the 37-year-old
Volkov does not appear particularly concerned about anything his opponent brings to the Octagon.
“I don’t want to be telling the same things every fight, but he looks very similar to many of my opponents,” Volkov recently told MMA Junkie. “What I expect from him is that he will maybe try to beat me in the standup, but after, he will try to clinch or take me down.”
“I expect nothing else from him,” Volkov continued. “He doesn’t have many weapons to surprise me. I have more technical skills.”
Volkov then took things in a much more personal direction, questioning how successful Kuniev can be without performance-enhancing drugs.
“All the success he’s had — and I don’t want to talk bad about him, I respect him as a person, as I know him,” Volkov said. “But after he took this fight with me, after he came to our gym and I was in class with him, he took this fight, so I should tell some true things I see.”
“We realized that he was cut from PFL for using steroids, performance-enhancing substances, so this was his success,” Volkov continued. “I’m not sure he can fight with me without it, so I’m not worried.”
Kuniev tested positive for anabolic steroids — drostanolone, metenolone, boldenone and 19-norandrosterone — following his 2023 victory over Renan Ferreira. The result was overturned to a no contest, while Kuniev received a 12-month suspension and a $9,821 fine from the Nevada State Athletic Commission.
It is worth noting, however, that there have been no publicly reported positive tests involving Kuniev since that 2023 violation.
Volkov enters UFC 333 riding a two-fight winning streak since his robbery loss to Ciryl Gane. “Drago” has won six of his last seven appearances and remains firmly planted near the top of the Heavyweight division.
Another victory over a dangerous prospect might finally force UFC to stop using Volkov as a gatekeeper for everyone else’s title ambitions.
Especially if Kuniev cannot prove him wrong.
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