Alexander Yakovlev

Thunder Of The North

Russia

Struggles continue in Abu Dhabi
LightweightOther
October 24, 2020
Yakovlev lost to Joel Alvarez via submission (armbar) at 3:00 of Round 1 at UFC 254 on Saturday in Abu Dhabi.
ANALYSIS
You can't help but feel for Yakovlev here. Knowing full well he may have needed a victory to extend his time with the company, he agreed to this fight despite the fact Alvarez missed weight by 3.5 pounds Friday. It didn't work out for him. Yakovlev has been with the UFC since May 2014. His record over that span is 3-6. He has just a single victory dating back to January 2016. If this is indeed Yakovlev's last fight with the UFC, the highlight of his run is the fact he managed to see the final bell against current UFC Welterweight Champion Kamaru Usman in a July 2016 bout.
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Opponent misses weight
LightweightOther
October 23, 2020
Yakovlev will be awarded 30 percent of Joel Alvarez's fight purse after his opponent came in 3.5 pounds heavy for their lightweight matchup at UFC 254 on Saturday, MMAFighting.com reports.
ANALYSIS
While Yakovlev will get a bit of an extra payday, he remains approximately a (+145) betting underdog at the sportsbooks as of Friday morning. He'll be giving up three inches in reach to Alvarez, an opponent who is 10 years younger and coming off back-to-back victories. Where Yakovlev might be able to success is on the mat, however, as he averages 1.56 takedowns per 15 minutes, racking up five total takedowns in his last three fights. On the other side, Alvarez has yet to defend a takedown in his brief, three-fight run, and has been taken down three times in his last two fights despite ultimately getting stoppages in both.
Fight with Joel Alvarez on tap
LightweightOther
October 7, 2020
Yakovlev (25-10-1) is slated to face Joel Alvarez (17-2-0) in a lightweight fight Oct. 24 at UFC 254 on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, Marcel Dorff of MMADNA.nl reports.
ANALYSIS
Since signing with the UFC in 2014, Yakovlev hasn't found much success, going 3-5-0. His most recent trip to the Octagon wasn't particularly competitive, as he took a unanimous-decision loss to Roosevelt Roberts last November in Moscow.
Falls in native Russia
LightweightOther
November 9, 2019
Yakovlev lost to Roosevelt Roberts via unanimous decision (28-29, 28-29, 28-29) at UFC Fight Night on Saturday in Moscow, Russia.
ANALYSIS
Yakovlev couldn't get the job done against a late-notice replacement in Roberts. Although Yakovlev had a strong second round, his poor performances in Rounds 1 and 3 were his undoing. Outside of his wrestling game, Yakovlev was remarkably ineffective offensively. He was credited with three successful takedowns on eight tries, but did little with his positional advantage. Five and a half years and eight fights (3-5) into his UFC career, Yakovlev has shown far more bad than good during his time with the company.
Gets fight for UFC on ESPN+ 21
LightweightOther
September 13, 2019
Yakovlev will take on Vinc Pichel in a lightweight bout at UFC on ESPN+21 on Nov. 9, Nolan King of USA Today reports.
ANALYSIS
Yakovlev most recently made his return to the octagon after nearly a three-year break. He moved from welterweight to lightweight and saw great results, defeating Alex da Silva Coelho via submission at UFC Fight Night 149. He'll now have his second chance at a lightweight victory in his home country of Russia.
Storms back with a submission
LightweightOther
April 20, 2019
Yakovlev defeated Alex da Silva via submission (guillotine choke) at 3:10 Round 2 at UFC Fight Night on Saturday in Saint Petersburg.
ANALYSIS
Yakovlev showed his ability to come back in this fight. He had a lot of trouble in this fight in the first round. He ate a lot of punches on the feet. Da Silva scored a few takedowns, but Yakovlev was able to scramble back to his feet and get back to work. The second round started off much the same way. However, Da Silva then shot for a takedown. Yakovlev showed good defense and kept himself on his feet. From there he locked in the guillotine choke and finished without jumping into guard. This was Yakovlev's first victory in the UFC since 2016.