Alexander Volkov’s range meets Rizvan Kuniev’s compressed UFC sample at UFC 333

MMA Fighting opened live coverage of Alexander Volkov versus Rizvan Kuniev as the heavyweights prepared to meet on the UFC 333 main card at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. The three-round, non-title bout is official on the card, matching the No. 2 and No. 7 heavyweights in the PropBetEdge rankings.

Volkov enters at 40-11 after consecutive decisions over Jailton Almeida and Waldo Cortes Acosta. Kuniev, 14-3-1 with one no contest, has won two straight since a split-decision loss to Curtis Blaydes in his UFC debut. He beat Almeida by unanimous decision in February and stopped Tyrell Fortune in the third round in July, leaving only 91 days between that victory and UFC 333. Volkov has been out 168 days.

That recent run has made Kuniev competitive at the window without displacing Volkov as the favorite. The observed moneyline ranged from Volkov -125 at DraftKings to -140 at BetMGM. Kuniev ranged from +104 at BetRivers to +115 at BetOnline, Caesars and BetMGM. Those differences make shopping material even in a relatively tight market.

Volkov’s reach advantage has a repeatable statistical base

Volkov is three inches taller and owns a four-inch reach advantage, 80 inches to 76. More important than the measurements alone is how consistently he has converted his frame into offense over a long UFC sample.

Across 19 archived bouts and 53 rounds with detailed data, Volkov landed 1,250 significant strikes at 58 percent accuracy. His career rate stands at 4.84 significant strikes landed per minute while absorbing 2.90. His target selection is broad: 734 significant strikes to the head, 269 to the body and 247 to the legs.

That distribution gives Volkov more than one route to maintaining range. Kuniev’s recorded target split is much narrower, with 77 of his 109 significant strikes directed to the head, 31 to the body and only one to the legs. Volkov can attack Kuniev’s base and body rather than contesting every exchange at head level, where Kuniev has shown both accuracy and power.