Heavyweight contenders Alexander Volkov and Jailton Almeida verbally agreed to square off at UFC 321 on Oct. 25 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, sources told MMA Fighting's Guilherme Cruz.
Contracts reportedly haven't been signed.
Volkov, ranked No. 2 in the division, is coming off a controversial split-decision loss to former interim champion Ciryl Gane at UFC 310 last December. Before that, the 36-year-old Russian had won four in a row, including a unanimous decision over Sergei Pavlovich and an Ezekiel-choke submission of Tai Tuivasa.
Almeida earned a first-round TKO win over Serghei Spivac at UFC 311 in January. The 34-year-old Brazilian is riding a two-fight winning streak and holds an 8-1 record in the Octagon. Almeida is the fifth-ranked heavyweight in the promotion.
The winner between Volkov and Almeida will be in the running for a heavyweight title shot against Tom Aspinall. Volkov faced Aspinall in a non-title bout in 2022, losing by submission.
