Alexander Volkov snagged arguably the most significant win of his octagon tenure. The former Bellator champ met longtime acquaintance Sergei Pavlovich in the UFC on ABC 6 co-main event. Volkov got the unanimous nod in the key heavyweight matchup at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. However, matters seem far from resolved!
The weigh-in face-off garnered much attention to the fight. Despite a clean battle, the animosity between the two persisted. After 15 minutes of action, tempers flared up. The victor wanted to mend fences and approached Sergei Pavlovich for a quick word after the judges’ decision. However, the Russian knockout artist didn’t have any of it, so he shoved him!
Volkov didn’t go to war. Instead, he had a smart showing to outdue Sergei Pavlovich from range. He initiated the exchange well with timed high kicks and body kicks. The Russian out of American Top Team did answer well with some right hooks and body shots but found it problematic to close range. More so, with the 35-year-old Russian having a “won’t touch the chin” upright stomp.
With Pavlovich constantly chasing yet not landing, the Strela Team MMA corner kept urging for high kicks. But Volkov kept to his usual light-hearted yet tactical demeanor. ‘Drago’ acted as the sniper, even bloodying the Russian knockout artist in the second round. He outpointed Pavlovich 30-27, 30-27, and 29-28 via unanimous decision. The interaction has gone quite viral on social media.
Fans react to viral discord between Alexander Volkov and Sergei Pavlovich
Alexander Volkov and former training partner Pavlovich have had a contentious relationship recently. The heart of their animosity stemmed from allegedly spreading misinformation about who accepted the fight first. Even as recent as the day before, the friend-turned-rivals had quite the fiery exchange in their native tongue during the Ceremonial Weigh-in final staredowns.
Fans react to the viral interaction at UFC on ABC 6 (Source: UFC News (@UFCNews) / X/UFC.go.com)Consequently, Sergei Pavlovich had put a lot of stock into this matchup. He last suffered a viral 69-second knockout at the hands of interim heavyweight Tom Aspinall at the UFC 295 PPV. However, the Russian could not quite capitalize on the urgency at the UFC on ABC: Whittaker vs. Aliskerov co-mains.
The frustration from a poor showing might have made Pavlovich shove Volkov after the fight. Fans have reacted to the incident on X. Here are a few responses to his outburst:
Volkov had a strong first round. Diversity in his kicking game and did well to keep Pavlovich on the outside.
— Luke Thomas🏋️♀️ (@lthomasnews) June 22, 2024
Big win for the tall man!
— Paul Felder (@felderpaul) June 22, 2024
Volkov has sneakily become a very good fighter.
— Jed Meshew II (@JedKMeshew) June 22, 2024
20-18 Volkov
Masterful performance thus far to neutralize Pavlovich
— Aaron Bronsteter (@aaronbronsteter) June 22, 2024
Sergei Pavlovich should’ve kept this same energy in the cage. Bro forgot to throw punches
— Charlie Quinn (@CharlieQuinnMMA) June 22, 2024
Aspinall cooked pavlovich, he ain’t the same 💀
— GOATED D (@allthingzmma) June 22, 2024
He got fraud checked I can’t blame him
— Victory Voice Sports (@VictoryVoicePod) June 22, 2024
lol tf you talking about “needed to be separated” Pav pushed him and walked away 😂
— Brendito Schortiz (@GeorgeGuillaume) June 22, 2024
Is this more of a good performance by Volkov or a poor one from Pavlovich?
— Kevin Iole (@KevinI) June 22, 2024
He looked so happy getting his hair combed.
— Brax Moore (@brax_moore_more) June 22, 2024
Most fans and peers have dumbed down Pavlovich’s slow running, even calling a fraud check. Others have jibed that Pavlovich’s poor outing might have easily helped Volkov to cruise to a unanimous decision win. They also criticized the poor sportsmanship and having a poor game plan throughout the fight. All in all, Pavlovich has now lost two-straight and needs a return to the win column soon.
