UFC on ESPN 11 Results: Curtis Blaydes Beats Alexander Volkov via Decision

Two days before taking on Alexander Volkov at UFC on ESPN 11 in Las Vegas Curtis Blaydes promised to "ragdoll" his opponent in the main event. 

He delivered on that promise en route to a dominant decision victory over Volkov to close out the card at the Apex Facility. 

It took Blaydes all of about eight seconds to get Volkov to the mat the first time. Shortly after touching gloves and throwing some feeling jabs in the face of his opponent he went to work on his first takedown of the night. 

While Volkov was able to work his way to the feet the moments standing were fleeting as Blaydes was able to simply dump him back on the mat and spent most of the first round on Volkov's back.

Blaydes' gameplan was mostly all about the wrestling but when he let his hands go he looked good too. He was able to capitalize on the fear of the takedown and showcase striking before going right back to the well and putting the Russian on his back. 

The 29-year-old set a record for takedowns before the fight even went to the fifth round.

After four rounds of essentially holding on for dear life Volkov did have a few moments in the fight. He scored a late takedown as the fourth round was coming to an end and caught an exhausted Blaydes with a knee before he regained his composure and once again took his opponent to the ground. 

It was the prototypical performance from Blaydes who possesses the most tenacious wrestling attack in the heavyweight division. With his only losses coming to Francis Ngannou he continues to do what he can to get in the top tier of the division. 

Main Card Results

• Curtis Blaydes def. Alexander Volkov via unanimous decision (49-46, 48-47, 48-46)
• Josh Emmett def. Shane Burgos via unanimous decision (29-28 x2, 29-27)
• Raquel Pennington def. Marion Reneau via unanimous decision (29-28 x2, 30-27)
• Belal Muhammad def. Lyman Good via unanimous decision (29-28 x3)
• Jim Miller def. Roosevelt Roberts via submission (arm bar) at 2:25 of Round 1

Prelim Results

• Bobby Green def. Clay Guida via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28 x2)
• Tecia Torres def. Brianna Van Buren via unanimous decision (30-27 x3)
• Marc-André Barriault def. Oskar Piechota via TKO at 4:50 of Round 2
• Gillian Robertson def. Cortney Casey via submission (rear-naked choke) at 4:36 of Round 3
• Justin Jaynes def. Frank Camacho via TKO at 0:41 of Round 1
• Lauren Murphy def. Roxanne Modafferi via unanimous decision (30-27 x2, 29-28)
• Austin Hubbard def. Max Rohskopf via TKO at 5:00 of Round 2

Josh Emmett def. Shane Burgos

The featherweight fight between Josh Emmett and Shane Burgos promised a slugfest pitting the volume of Burgos against the power of Emmett. It lived up to those expectations and more.

Emmett came out swinging hard in the first round and finding a home for the hooks and overhand rights he continued to throw. Burgos, undeterred, continued to throw counters and combinations to lay the groundwork for a tiring Emmett. 

Unfortunately for him Emmett's output only dipped slightly in the second round. Burgos seemed to take control in the second frame although it wouldn't last. 

Emmett's power turned out to be a factor once again in the third round as he floored Burgos with a nasty left hand. It appeared the first two rounds had the fight tied up to that point but the punch turned the tide in Emmett's favor and ultimately scored him the decision win. 

The Team Alpha Male product continues to impress. He's now won three in a row with two of those wins coming by way of knockout or TKO. 

Burgos acquitted himself well in the fight despite the loss. He ate several punches that could and have knocked out other fighters in the division and he continued moving forward and trying to impose his gameplan. At just 29 with only two losses on his UFC record he'll get another chance to move up the rankings.

Raquel Pennington def. Marion Reneau

Stuck in the middle of a 1-3 stretch in her last four fights Raquel Pennington needed a strong performance to rejuvenate her career against Marion Reneau. For three rounds she turned up the heat and looked like the fighter that once earned a title shot against Amanda Nunes. 

Pennington utilized the clinch and a relentless boxing game to put pressure on Reneau that the Belizean Bruiser struggled to deal with throughout the fight. 

While Reneau did enough to take a round on two of the scorecards while Pennington took the clean sweep on the other. The fight took place on her 43rd birthday and is now three losses in a row so it's fair to wonder how many more fights she has left. 

Pennington, on the other hand, looked better than ever and is just 31. While they aren't the same caliber of wins, only Nunes has scored more wins in the division than her. 

Despite the run of losses against top competition it won't be surprising to see her against another top opponent sooner rather than later. 

Belal Muhammad def. Lyman Good

It was a story of too little, too late for Lyman Good in an exciting welterweight collision that saw Muhammad take the fight 29-28 on all three scorecards. 

Muhammad got off to a strong start and took the first round on the strength of his volume and pace. He simply outworked Good and established himself as the leader in the clubhouse going into the second round. In the second frame, Good turned up the heat with his punches but a still did enough to outwork him and take the round. 

The third was where it got interesting as Good started landing significant strikes and won the standup before Muhammad scored a takedown toward the end of the round. The two definitely did what they could to score Fight of the Night honors in an entertaining affair. 

The win gives Muhammad a three-fight win streak and seven wins in his last eight fights. It's getting harder to ignore him as a ranked fighter in a deep division. 

Jim Miller def. Roosevelt Roberts

There are few things as enduring in sports as Jim Miller's submission game. Even at 36 years old with 48 fights he's dangerous on the ground and Roosevelt Roberts found that out the hard way. 

The 26-year-old fighter came into the bout with back-to-back wins including a submission win over Brok Weaver less than a month ago. But as it turns out grappling with Weaver is a whole different ballgame than taking on Miller. 

Miller showcased his grappling skills by transitioning from top position off the takedown to an armbar and while it put him on the bottom the gamble paid off as he was able to lock it in. 

At this point, this fight is probably a bigger momentum stopper for Roberts than it is a transcendent performance for Miller. His days of fighting the cream of the lightweight crop are done but he proved he's still worthy of testing young prospects and seeing where they are. 

For now, it appears Roosevelt still has some development to go if he wants to reach his potential.