Volkov defeats Cortes-Acosta by unanimous decision, calls for title shot

Alexander Volkov won by unanimous decision against Waldo Cortes-Acosta with scores of 30-27, 29-28, 29-28. The crowd in New Jersey booed the decision, apparently favoring Acosta's aggressive center-cage callouts. The analyst believed Volkov won the first two rounds but expected a more dominant performance, similar to his victory over Sergei Pavlovich two years ago. Volkov entered the octagon interview with a Russian flag and told the booing crowd it was an honor to fight on May 9th. He called for a title fight, saying he would face Tom Aspinall, Ciryl Gane, or Alex Pereira, stating he doesn't care who the opponent is.