Alistair Overeem vs. Alexander Volkov to headline February UFC Fight Night

Alistair Overeem (47-18) will have to wait before he's even teased with a legitimate opportunity of potentially facing all-time great Jon Jones. 

As Brett Okamoto wrote, UFC boss Dana White told ESPN on Thursday that Overeem will battle fellow heavyweight Alexander Volkov (32-8) in the main event of a Fight Night card on Feb. 6. 

Overeem, currently fifth in the division in the official rankings, turned 40 years old in May and is pursuing one last chance at a UFC title. He fell to heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic in Miocic's home city of Cleveland in September 2016 but has won four of his last five contests. 

Overeem defeated Augusto Sakai in September. Ahead of that triumph, he declared that he wanted to fight Jones after "Bones" vacated the light heavyweight championship in August. 

"I think it would be a great fight, and I would feel honored," Overeem said at the time. 

He'd better have both eyes fixed on Volkov, who is hardly a secondary figure in the division. Volkov is ranked No. 6 but has split wins and losses across his last four appearances in the Octagon. The 32-year-old submitted Walt Harris in the second round of their match in October. 

While it's unknown where the Feb. 6 event will occur, either the UFC Apex or the Fight Island site on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi seem the most logical destinations. The coronavirus pandemic is worsening around the world and likely will prevent the UFC from hosting shows with paying fans in attendance at any point in the foreseeable future.