Sergey Pavlovich and Alexander Volkov at the official UFC Saudi Arabia weigh-in. Photo credit: Youtube/UFC
Top heavyweight contenders Sergey Pavlovich and Alexander Volkov appeared in the co-main event at UFC Saudi Arabia on Saturday.
The fight was controversial after it was announced, as the two were friends and training partners and neither wanted to fight, but the bout went ahead anyway. Pavlovic had suffered his first loss in five years in a 2023 interim title fight, while Volkov had won three straight bouts prior to the finish to improve his UFC record to 11-4, but his win over Sergey added to that record.
Pavlovic came out feeling the distance behind his lead hand, while Volkov, the tall kickboxer, kept his distance with kicks and jabs. The striking was fairly even during the first round, with neither monster taking any significant damage, but Volkov’s height and longer kicks allowed him to land slightly more blows when Pavlovic tried to apply pressure.
Sergey had to find a way to get inside Volkov consistently in the second round, while Alexander was able to slow down as his bigger opponent gradually tired. He controlled the distance with a variety of kicks, from both feet and stances: front, side, diagonal, spin kicks and leg kicks. Pavlovic landed his biggest punch so far with about a minute left, but it didn’t seem like it was enough to take the round.
In the final round, both fighters slowed down even more as their big bodies tired. Pavlovic picked up momentum from there, but his unchanging strikes landed more on Volkov’s high guard than on his actual head or body. Drago played a defensive strategy as he seemed to be leading by two rounds, which allowed Sergey to have more success in the previous rounds. Still, Pavlovic was repeatedly hit by jabs, which made his already red masked face even bloodier. As many other fighters do these days, they traded punches until the final bell. Sergey landed a hook, but Volkov landed half a head kick before the bell rang, followed by a hook.
After the fight, during a commercial break, Alexander tried to hug Pavlovic, which caused an angry Pavlovic to shove his former friend Volkov, causing mayhem.
After three hard-fought rounds, Volkov appeared to have won, but the fight was so close that tension hung over the arena as the verdict was awaited. Volkov ultimately won on all scorecards, explaining afterwards that he didn’t understand why Pavlovic had pushed him in anger immediately after the fight, as the two had been friends for some time.
Official result: Alexander Volkov defeats Sergey Pavlovich by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
